The Rival
by Soccer-Geek
Summary: Pidge has their own rival. One who tried to stop them from finding out the truth. Who called them delusional. Who told them to just accept the failure that was the Kerberos Mission. Too bad he's now traveling with them in the Castle, saving the universe. Too bad he's Shiro's younger brother.
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing, but started writing this before SDCC, so the ages in this fic are:**

 **Pidge: 15**

 **Keith, Lance and Hunk: 17**

 **Shiro: 19**

Chapter One:

"Where's Hunk?" Keith asked as he got himself settled onto the couch.

"Yeah, it's movie night." Lance said, putting his arm around Keith's shoulder. "He usually beats us all in here, setting up snacks and stuff."

"He's spent most of the afternoon working on a project of some sorts." Allura said as she took a seat, smoothing out her skirt. "I imagine, like Pidge, he has lost track of the time while being so wrapped up in it."

"Yeah, but Pidge doesn't forget about movie nights." Lance argued.

"That would be because I either remember, or I get dragged in here and told to set up like five different movies at the same time because no one can make up their minds on what to watch." Pidge said, tying away on their laptop, in the process of pulling up a movie and connecting it to the holographic projector.

Movie nights had become another 'team bonding' exercise that they tried to make happen at least once a week. Everyone looked forward to it because it was a time to decompress and relax, but also helped alleviate homesickness for the human Paladins, and allowed Allura and Coran to understand more about earth culture (and understand a lot of the pop culture references the younger teens made).

Shiro uncrossed his arms and prepared to push himself up off the couch.

"I'll go get him." He said. But before he could get up, they heard yelling from the hallway.

"GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS!"

Hunk skidded to a stop inside the lounge, out of breath with his hands on his knees.

"Hunk?" Lance said, turning around on the couch to get on his knees, frowning at his friend. "Everything alright, man?"

Hunk looked up and grinned widely at the other four Paladins, the Princess and Coran.

"You're not gonna believe what I just did!" He said excitedly.

"Did you finally find a way to make space chocolate?" Pidge asked, looking up from the computer, secretly hopeful.

"Not as good, but just about!" Hunk said. "I got connected to the internet! The earth internet!"

"What?" Shiro said, instantly on his feet.

"No way!" Lance said excitedly, bouncing himself off the couch onto his feet. "That's amazing!"

"Do you think we can contact people?" Pidge asked, thinking instantly of their mom.

"Haven't tried yet, but, guys…" Hunk took a deep breath before saying, "The internet knows about Voltron!"

"What?" Came the surprised voice. Everyone followed Hunk to where he had set up his computer in his room. They all gathered around the holographic computer screen and control panel.

The webpage was black with bright blue letters, called **Voltron Watch**. The banner at the top offered a few page options: the Home page, one marked Kerberos, another marked Voltron, yet another marked News, and the last one marked The Missing.

The home page that Hunk was on had a video that was labeled 'Welcome'.

"Have you watched it?" Lance asked.

"Not yet, hang on." Hunk said, starting the video.

After a few seconds, the video started. The screen was divided in half, each side showing a different place and a different girl.

On the right was a dark-skinned girl with numerous dreadlocks, a few dyed red, and pulled back into a ponytail. Wherever she was, an apartment from the looks of it, it was dark out, but numerous lights seemed to indicate she was in a city. The girl on the left had a warm tan coloring, with long, wavy dark brown hair with a pink flower tucked behind an ear. Behind her was a large open window with bright blue sky and a palm tree waving lazily in the breeze.

Pidge instantly reached out and paused the video, pointing to the girl on the right.

"That's Tali!" Pidge exclaimed excitedly, turning to Shiro to see his reaction. But, to their surprise, it was a lack of reaction. More confusion than anything else.

"She looks familiar…" Shiro said, his voice a bit strained as he struggled desperately to remember.

"Is the other young woman familiar?" Allura asked.

"Yes." Hunk answered instantly with a huge grin. "That's my best friend, Lani."

Lance made an indignant noise.

"My non-Garrison best friend," Hunk amended, looking over at Lance, who then nodded approvingly, looking a little smug. "Lani and I have been buds since we were in diapers. But I'm really confused now… How do she and Tali know each other?"

"Let's get some answers, then." Keith said, reaching past to hit the play button again.

"Aloha!" Said Lani with a wave. "My name is Hokulani Kahele."

"And my name is Tali Wright." Said Tali. "Welcome to Voltron Watch."

"You're probably wondering, what is Voltron?" Lani said. "Well, the answer is, we have no idea!"

"But we do know it is something important, and it is something that the Galaxy Garrison does not want the world to know about." Tali said. "Which is why we are making this video and website, to spread the word about Voltron. This all began nearly two years ago, when I was a student at Galaxy Garrison. I was the engineer assigned to a three-man flight crew alongside Matthew Holt and Takashi 'Shiro' Shirogane."

Everyone turned to look at Shiro at this point, who stared at the screen, stunned.

"Matt's father, Commander Samuel Holt, requested for our team to fly the Kerberos mission. I declined for personal reasons, but Matt and Shiro accepted the offer. Five months after the crew left earth's atmosphere, the Galaxy Garrison announced that the entire crew was dead due to pilot error." Tali's face screwed up at this. "However, nearly a year later, new evidence arrived that this was not only a lie, but a potential cover-up."

The screen cut to shaky footage from a phone-camera of what looked like a meteor crashing towards the earth. Pidge turned and looked around at Keith, Lance and Hunk. The meteor that wasn't a meteor. A ship. Shiro, returning to earth.

Pidge felt like a hand was gripping their heart, closing their eyes at hearing Shiro's voice. It was painful to hear the first time, him struggling against the Garrison officials who were clearly not listening to him as he warned them about Voltron, him begging for them not to put him under, and Pidge remembering how glad they had been to learn she wasn't alone as Lance declared their need to rescue Shiro.

But suddenly, Pidge's eyes snapped open.

 _I hacked that camera feed,_ Pidge thought. _But someone spliced my hack for this video._

Pidge didn't get time to further think about that, because the girls reappeared on the screen. In between them was a still from further footage, of Lance and Keith glaring at each other while supporting an unconscious Shiro between them.

"This," Lani said as a small blue line circled Lance's head. "Is Lance Sanchez-Garcia, a student of the Galaxy Garrison, and this," A red line for Keith. "Is Keith Kwan, a former student of the Garrison. Shirogane, Sanchez-Garcia and Kwan, alongside Pika 'Hunk' Kekoa and Pidge Gunderson, AKA Katelyn Holt, have not been seen since this night."

"But what has been seen?" Tali said, smiling slightly. "This."

And there it was: the Blue Lion, soaring around in the sky as Lance test-piloted.

"As it turns out, there has been local lore in the dessert area around Galaxy Garrison about a Blue Lion, a noble warrior, for centuries." Tali said. "All that is really known is that this Lion showed up, but then disappeared out of sight, out of earth's atmosphere. Right as the International Space Station began to pick up signs of an approaching transport: one that is not from earth."

There is then grainy footage of Blue fighting the Galra ship above earth, then flying towards the outer reaches of the Solar System, the Galra following.

"No one is really sure what happened to the Lion, or this other ship." Lani said. "Debris that crashed to earth was immediately seized by Galaxy Garrison, who have yet to answer the numerous questions surrounding these objects and the crash sites."

"If this Lion is Voltron, then we can only hope that it is in friendly hands." Tali said. "Shiro, Katie, Hunk, Lance, Keith… if you're out there, if you somehow find this video, just know that we all miss you."

"But if you've got Voltron, and it's doing good out there, then," Lani hesitated, seeming to blink back tears. "Then we understand. We all do. But come home soon."

The video went dark.

Everyone was quiet.

Pidge couldn't sit still and grabbed hold of the controls, navigating through the pages. They started with 'The Missing'. That page brought up each Paladin's picture as well of that of Commander Holt and Matt, displaying their official Galaxy Garrison identification photos, with their hyperlinked name underneath.

"Geez, Keith, you look like the 'bad boy' member of just about every boy band there is." Lance said with a small smile, causing Keith to replicate the annoyed frown that was on his face in the picture taken three years before.

"At least I'm not actually glaring down the camera like Pidge is." Keith said defensively.

Pidge ignored the two and instead clicked on the link beneath their picture, which read PIDGE GUNDERSON/KATELYN 'KATIE' HOLT. It led to a page that painfully reminded them of the tribute pages that had been created all over social-media after the Kerberos mission, put together by family and friends and even a few fans. The pages full of pictures and stories of her father, Matt and Shiro. This page had very few photos of how Pidge looked now, most of them taken while Pidge was still only Katie.

Katie with her long hair and school uniform, a golden ribbon holding up her ponytail and her plaid skirt neatly pressed on the first day of a new school year; Katie as the captain of her school's robotics team, clutching a first place ribbon and posing beside the winning robot; a younger Katie and Matt playing on the floor with their new puppy; four year old Katie riding a carousel horse with her father right beside her; her tired mom holding a newborn Katie in her arms with a huge grin and four-year-old Matt staring wide-eyed at the baby; a family Christmas photo; right before the Kerberos lift off, Katie's arms around Matt, both with huge smiles on their faces.

But what surprised Pidge the most was that this had a mixture of Pidge's story and some of Katie's story there, about their father and brother and Kerberos, but also some information about how they had infiltrated the Garrison as Pidge Gunderson.

Pidge went back and started clicking on the other names, picking at random.

Hunk's photos mostly took place on the beach or in a small house. A small, chubby four year old wearing bright orange water wings and sitting on a surfboard, a man who looked like an older version of Hunk waist-deep in the water beside him, wearing Hunk's trademark headband. Hunk cooking beside a different man. Hunk at his middle school graduation with Lani—also in her own robes—and two other girls, one older and one younger, all smiling for the camera. All four just a bit younger, building a sandcastle. Toddler Hunk in the arms of a smiling woman sitting in a rocking chair. Hunk holding up a toy racecar with a wide grin. A family picture, the woman and the man sitting, the woman holding a small baby in her arms, the man holding Hunk on his lap, and the older girl standing on a stool behind them, arms draped around the man's neck.

Hunk smiled sadly. He pointed at the two unidentified girls in the graduation picture.

"That's my older sister, Kalea. She's studying marine biology at the University of Hawaii. And that's my younger sister, Luana. She's going to be starting high school soon…" He said. He pointed to the woman in the rocking chair. "My mom…" And then, he pointed to the man he was with in the ocean. "And that's my dad. He died when I was five. Boating accident. He was a fisherman. There was a freak storm. Didn't get back to shore in time…"

Before anyone could say anything, Hunk took the controls from Pidge, going back to the previous page, clicking on Lance's before anyone could say anything else.

There were tons of photos, but very few pictures of Lance alone. Sitting in a kiddie pool with lots of smaller kids in one, playing with water guns with some older kids in another. Lance playing soccer with a mixture of big and little kids, or dancing. At about the age ten and holding a tiny, pink-blanket-wrapped baby while grinning at the one holding the camera. One of Lance in his Garrison uniform with a small girl on his back. Quite a few on a beach. The ones that were of him alone were a little more formal, yearbook photos taken at school. There was also one of him in a soccer uniform and coated in mud and grass, and another of him at about seven in a suit with a blue tie and a wooden rosary around his neck.

Lance grinned at a lot of these photos.

"We took that a week before I started the new year at Garrison," He said, pointing to one of him with all eight of his siblings, sitting the porch steps, the same small girl in Lance's lap. "It's Mom's tradition to take one on the first day of school. Garrison started before the local schools, and my older siblings' semesters started a few days after, so we took it early this year. So, that's my oldest brother, Roberto, he's a senior at University of Florida. He's on the soccer team, and a history major. That's the twins, Luisa and Maria, they're both sophomores at Florida State; Luisa's an art history major with a focus in restoration while Maria's studying sociology and anthropology. Luisa's the one with her hair up. And that's Miguel, he's a freshman at University of Florida, but last I heard he's still not quite sure what he wants to do. Then that's Carlos, he started high school this year and plays baseball and is about as big a space nerd as I am, but he wants to be an astronomer rather than actually go to space. Then that's Alicia, she's twelve and loves to dance. And that's Raymon, he's nine and a total pest but my mom says that's because he just copies everything I do."

He then pointed to the little girl he was holding.

"That's my little sister, Bella. She's the baby of the family, and the youngest girl of the entire extended family." He explained. He grinned. "She's spoiled rotten for it, but the sweetest thing in the entire universe… And I'm her favorite."

He said this last part with his usual prideful gusto, but then suddenly he seemed sad and almost guilty. Lance suddenly tore his eyes away from the picture of his little sister and instead seemed to be hyper-focusing on the one of him in the suit for a moment and mumbled,

" _T_ _a_ Lucia's wedding or First Communion? Nope, definitely Communion." He mumbled.

"Hey, Lance?" Pidge said. "Weird question, but… You're Cuban, and your siblings all have Hispanic names, but you don't. Why is that?"

"Not a weird question. I get it a lot, actually. But, basically, my parents decided to name me after a family friend who died a few weeks before I was born." Lance explained, eyes focused on the photos that he scrolled through. "He was my dad's best friend growing up. Best man at his wedding, pretty much another uncle to my older siblings. Great guy all around, from what I've heard. He died in a car accident, and it really shook up my dad. So my mom suggested naming me in honor of him. He was a pilot, too, but flew airplanes, so my namesake was part of my inspiration to become a pilot myself."

"Wow." Hunk said, unable to think of anything else to say. "So, you going to introduce us to the rest of the family?"

"Nah, we'd be here forever. My parents have about as many siblings as I do, so I have, like, a gazillion cousins." Lance said with a small smile, his eyes sad. They could all see how quickly he was getting homesick. "Come on, let's look at the others."

Pidge decided to do Keith's next. It had the least amount of photos, and the bio there was much shorter. Most of the photos were yearbook-type photos, each with Keith looking just as irritable as he did in his official Galaxy Garrison one.

"What are you, camera-shy?" Lance teased Keith, poking him in the ribs, causing Keith to swat at him. Keith said nothing, but frowned slightly at the one photo of him smiling.

He was about seven years old in that photo, his smile huge and missing a few baby teeth, with a woman with long, braided black hair leaning over him, her arms wrapped around him. She had a bright, beautiful smile and kind violet eyes.

"Is that your mother, Keith?" Allura asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah." Keith said. "She died shortly after this photo was taken. And… You all know why I never knew my father."

Two months previously, after a particularly rough battle that ended with Keith in a healing pod, Allura and Coran had detected—to everyone's surprise—Galra DNA mixed with human. Keith had not taken the news well when he woke up, resulting in him shunning away everyone and locking himself in his room, despite repeated assurances that no one thought less of him or trusted him less. They didn't blame him for who his parents were. It took two days and everyone sitting in shifts outside his door—either sitting in silence but making Keith aware of their presence or having a one-sided conversation with Keith on the other-side—for him to finally emerge, though he insisted it was only because he was starving and wanted food. His interactions with others were more limited than before, but slowly—and surprisingly—Lance was the one who kept pulling him out of his shell more and more over the weeks. Now, he was a little more sociable than before, which everyone credited to the closeness between Keith and Lance. "Closeness" that involved a great deal of cuddling next to each other on the lounge couches on movie nights…

Coran had deduced that—aside from the few purplish blotches on his legs and torso that Keith had always assumed were just birthmarks—Keith's Galra parentage was making itself more present due to entering the last stages of adolescence (which made Keith grumble irritably that he thought he was done with puberty) as well as now being in space and the occasional close contact to other Galra. Keith's skin would break out into more purple blotches and fuzz, and the occasional transformation of his ears, when his emotions were running particularly high; once he was calm and relaxed again, the purple would fade and his ears would change back (to Lance's utter disappointment).

No one said anything in response to Keith's statement, but Allura put her hand on Keith's shoulder comfortingly, as did Hunk, while Lance slipped his fingers into Keith's hand. Keith nodded appreciatively, then nodded at Pidge when they looked over their shoulder, silently asking if he wanted to leave this page.

Which left them only with Shiro's page.

Like the others, they were a mixture of old and more recent. The older ones showed of an eight year old Shiro triumphantly holding up a plastic bag with a goldfish in it, of being on the back of his father, of sitting in his mother's arms as she read a book to him, practicing karate in a white _gi_. Of him playing in the snow with two smaller kids, of all three kids sitting along the porch of a Japanese style house in shorts and t-shirts. Pidge immediately decided that their favorite was of Shiro at about age three, wearing a kimono and a huge smile as he held his parents' hands where he stood between them. The more recent photos included a picture of Shiro, Matt and Tali in their Garrison uniforms, arms around each other and grinning at the camera. A picture of him playing a card game with a younger girl who looked a lot like him. A picture of him and a boy who was almost identical but shorter standing together; Shiro in his green formal Garrison uniform and the younger boy in a suit. Pidge remembered that picture being taken, having been present, at a gala event that served as a send-off party for the Kerberos mission.

They were all before photos, Pidge realized, glancing at Shiro.

These photos all showed Shiro unscathed. His skin tan and healthy. His hair entirely black. Two flesh and blood hands. His smile much easier.

And, looking at Shiro now, Pidge saw that Shiro realized this too.

"Shiro?" Lance said, frowning as he studied the head of Voltron. "Are you okay?"

"I don't remember these people." Shiro mumbled. "I don't… I don't remember their names. Their birthdays. What their voices sound like. How I am supposed to know them."

He looked at the photo of him, Matt and Tali.

"I remember Tali a little. Now I do, at least. But I didn't before. I didn't… I don't…"

Shiro pressed the palm of his left hand against his forehead.

"Shiro, it's okay," Pidge said, turning around and reaching for his right hand. "It's not your fault you can't remember…"

"I know…" Shiro said, pulling his hand behind his back so that Pidge couldn't grab it. "I just…"

He shook his head and turned, walking out of the room.

"Oh, Shiro…" Allura said as he disappeared.

"Give him time," Coran said. "That is all he needs. Time. He will remember in time."

"Yeah, except he wants to remember now." Lance said.

"Should we go after him?" Hunk asked.

"Let him have his space." Keith advised. "I think the last thing he wants right now is to be smothered by us."

Pidge sadly turned back to the website, searching the News page instead. What caught their eye instantly made them grin.

"Mom, please tell me this means what I think it means…" Pidge mumbled, clicking on a link. Then they laughed. "Go Mom!"

"What?" Hunk said. "Your mom? What's she doing?"

"She's leading a case against the Garrison for the cover-up of the Kerberos mission!" Pidge said excitedly. "Look! There's a Holt/Shirogane versus Galaxy Garrison trial going on in both America and Japan… And my mom's the prosecuting attorney for the American case!"

"Is that legal?" Keith asked.

"Who cares?" Pidge said, doing a small victory dance in the chair. "You guys don't understand… They call my Mom 'The Lioness of the courtroom'. She makes grown men cry on a regular occasion! I'd love to see her reduce Commander Iverson to tears… That'll show him…"

"Won't lie, I would very much love to see that." Lance said with a smirk.

"Alright," Pidge said, backing out but still feeling elated. "Now, I'm going to find out who spliced my hack of that camera."

"Can you do that?" Hunk asked.

"Watch me!" Pidge said with a grin. "I can have this answer in five minutes, tops!"

However, not five minutes later, Pidge's fingers began to curl in frustration over the keys, eyes hard and whole body shaking in anger.

This hacker had signed their work. A little piece of code that didn't change any of the data, but claimed their work nonetheless.

SS55

Pidge knew that signature.

"Uh, Pidge?" Lance said hesitantly. "Having trouble?"

"No." Pidge said through gritted teeth. "I'm going to murder him."

"Oh dear, don't you think murder is a bit, er, extreme?" Coran said.

"Oh, no, not for him." Pidge said, fingers now curling into fists.

"So you know the hacker? Like, personally or professionally or what?" Keith asked.

"Do I know the hacker?" Pidge repeated, grinning madly now as they spun around in the chair to look at the Blue, Red and Yellow Paladins, the Princess and Coran. "Yes, I know the hacker.

"You could say that this hacker killed Katie Holt and brought Pidge Gunderson to life."

"Who exactly is he?" Lance asked hesitantly.

Pidge sighed.

"He's a second year student at Galaxy Garrison. A communications officer, like me, though he started out as a pilot. He switched to cargo class when he made the switch to communications, too. His name is Shinji Shirogane."

"Wait, Shirogane?" Hunk said, eyes widening. "You mean, like Shiro?"

"Wait a second," Keith said, standing straighter. "Are you talking about Shiro's brother? That Shinji Shirogane?"

Pidge nodded.

"What, how exactly did he piss you off?" Lance asked.

Pidge sighed.

"Get comfortable. It's a very long story."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

 **One week before take-off:**

The first time Katie Holt met Shinji Shirogane, she believed that this would only be the first of a handful of times they were together.

The Kerberos Mission was a big deal. No one had ever gone that far into the reaches of the solar system before.

Commander Samuel Holt, Cadet Matthew Holt and Cadet Takashi 'Shiro' Shirogane were to be the first.

There had been many big donors. There were hands to be shaken, more investors to be wined and dined.

But above all, the Galaxy Garrison had to force a smile, pretend that all was right when they were so furious at Katie's father.

It had started six months ago. When—due to their record timing and impeccable training record—the flight team made up of Cadets Shirogane, Holt and Wright were selected to observe on-board a real, routine flight to the International Space Station.

Although the three cadets were the same age as a majority of third-years at the Garrison, they were fifth years. The team had made headlines five years previously when the Galaxy Garrison announced that all three had met the academic and flight simulator qualifications for early admission. It was a rare feat, and there hadn't been any early acceptances in five years, and there had never been three students accepted within the same year. They formed a fast friendship—helped in Matt and Shiro's case as they were assigned to room together. Though they spent their first two years in their separate programs—Matt in communications, Tali in engineering, and Shiro in piloting—during their third year they were put onto the same flight team.

Even though they were a fighter team and the ship crew they were shadowing was a cargo team, the three were very much looking forward to the trip. The job was little more than playing mailman, just bringing in fresh supplies and new equipment, but it was also their first time actually in space. For Matt, there was extra excitement involved. They would be bringing his father, Commander Holt, back to earth after six months on the station conducting research.

Everything was fine on the trip up. The pilot's communications officer and engineer were not making the return trip, however, as they were assigned on the station for a stay while the pilot took a stint teaching at Galaxy Garrison. The return trip was supposed to have been just as easy, even without two crew members. After all, it wasn't exactly a solo flight with Commander Holt and three well-trained teenagers on board.

There was still no explanation as to what had suddenly knocked a satellite out of orbit, how it came spiraling into the ship. The impact was strong enough to send the pilot out of his chair, breaking his arm. Shiro, as the only trained pilot on board, immediately took the helm and began directing his own crew. While Tali did everything she could to assess and fix the damage, Matt immediately started making contact with mission control, calmly informing them of the situation and giving a warning to clear the airspace for the emergency landing, while calculating the exact coordinates of where they would land.

Even with the damage sustained, Shiro managed to safely land the craft in a way that senior officers swore they had only seen the best pilots do at the height of their careers. Never as an emergency landing, and certainly never as sixteen year old boys.

The entire teenage crew was again famous over-night, Shiro especially. Though Shiro insisted that he couldn't have done anything without his teammates, both Tali and Matt pointed out that, without him, they'd all be dead. They all had earned medals for their heroic actions. They each had begun work with some of the best in their fields. Tali was introduced to some of the top ship designers and engineers in the world. Matt's love and talent in the science fields led him to many introductions, as well as unnecessary encouragement to follow in his father's footsteps as a researcher, which was often a sub-specialty of communication officers.

As for Shiro, he quickly became a trophy piece. Diplomats, CEOs, politicians and quite a few celebrities all seemed to be fighting for a chance for Shiro to be the one to pilot them to whatever destination they needed. And the Garrison allowed that, letting Shiro be shown off.

Takashi Shirogane, the sixteen year old kid from the Galaxy Garrison who could pull off an emergency landing as if the only thing that happened was a change in the direction of the wind.

It was great publicity for the Galaxy Garrison, where Shiro rarely was anymore. He missed it, though, because he missed being with his team.

But he also started to worry that he would never get back into space. That he'd spend more time being on earth as a wonder kid. And even though he only expressed this in the confidence of Matt and Tali, the two had decided to approach Commander Holt for advice to help Shiro, hoping that he could persuade the Garrison to let Shiro stay at the school for a longer stint.

Commander Holt had another idea that he believed would serve better.

Then, to the shock of the entire world, Commander Holt—during a live broadcast to announce the Kerberos mission—announced that he had chosen Takashi Shirogane to be his pilot, Matthew Holt his communication officer and Tali Wright to be his engineer.

Tali, however, had politely declined, also on public television, only a day later. Her grandfather—who had raised her most of her life—had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and there was strong indicators that he would not survive the year. Knowing it would take months to get to Kerberos, she decided to stay on Earth with her grandparents.

The Garrison hadn't approved of Commander Holt's initial choices, even less so with his decision to not replace Tali with another Garrison engineering student, despite seeing the logic in not trying to force a dynamic to work between two established team members and a new one. After all, the Commander and Matt both had some training as engineers. But the Garrison couldn't retract the Commander's announcement. Couldn't find a viable excuse not to use the boy who many—including the entire upper-level command of the Garrison—insisted was the best pilot in the world at barely seventeen years of age. They certainly would have preferred an older pilot. But their hands were tied. So even if they did not approve, they were going to throw a party as if they did.

Which was why thirteen-year-old Katie Holt was entering a ballroom on her brother's arm, wearing a light green dress that complimented her brother's dark green Garrison dress uniform. She looked around in awe initially, but chided herself. After all, she was gaping like a child. But she was pleased to note that she was not, in fact, the youngest in the room. That would have been Mitsu Shirogane, Shiro's ten year old sister, who stood proudly at his side, dressed in a kimono like her mother, and giving a big smile to everyone who approached her oldest brother.

Katie had met Shiro a few times before. He and Tali were frequent dinner guests on weekends. But the Shiroganes lived far enough away from the Garrison that the families had never met before. Katie was interested in meeting Shiro's brother, Shinji, who was a year older than Katie and set to start at Galaxy Garrison in the fall, three months after lift-off. Katie, on the other hand, would be starting her last year of middle school, and would follow onto to the Garrison a year later.

Matt led Katie directly over to Shiro and his family. Introductions were made, with translations at a minimum. Shiro had told Katie before that his family had moved to Japan when he was eight. His father, a renowned medical research scientist, had been offered a position at a research hospital in America, and so they had all went. While Shiro and his siblings were completely bilingual, their father's English was strongly accented and fairly strong with occasional stumbles, and his wife—a former kindergarten teacher—knew enough to get by.

One of the first things she noticed about Shinji Shirogane during those introductions was the immediate thing they shared in common: they both idolized their older brothers. Shinji seemed to be constantly watching Shiro, mimicking how he stood, relaxing when Shiro did. She also noticed how much the brothers looked alike. They wore their hair differently, Shinji's hair longer at the sides while Shiro's was closely buzzed, the longest bit of his hair being a forelock at the front that teasingly dangled between his eyes. But their smiles were the same, contagious and bright and friendly.

"So, are you going to be a pilot, too?" Katie asked Shinji as the parents and older brothers talked around them.

"Yeah. Fighter pilot." Shinji said with a grin. He glanced at Shiro beside him, who was laughing at something Matt had said. Shinji's grin grew some as he said, "How else am I going to beat Takashi's simulator times?" He turned back to Katie. "And you? Takashi mentioned you've already been accepted to the Garrison, but will enter next year."

Like Matt, she had been been offered early acceptance to the Garrison. However, unlike Matt, Katie had turned down the offer. While Matt had always known he had wanted to go to space, Katie wasn't as sure. Sure, she liked the idea, but she also had strongly thought about engineering fields outside of the military and space aspects, particularly medical engineering. She had only recently decided that she at the very least wanted the training and would start at the Garrison with the other students her age.

"Yeah, I have the aptitudes for both communications and engineer, apparently. But I'm not sure yet which I'll do." Katie said.

Katie didn't jump when suddenly a long, thin arm wrapped around her shoulders and Tali pulled her into a hug.

"The answer is easy. Join the engineering sisterhood, Katie!" Tali said teasingly.

"Hey, don't you lead my baby sister astray." Matt said, turning to grin at Tali. "Communications is where all the fun's at, you know."

Tali scoffed, putting a hand on her hip, her other arm still around Katie's shoulders.

"Clearly you have a twisted definition of the word 'fun'." Tali said, eyes glittering. Katie grinned, knowing that the two were only teasing each other, as usual.

"Katie could be a pilot, you know." Shiro said suddenly, making both his teammates splutter, Matt rushing to put his hands over Katie's ears.

"Blasphemy!" Matt said jokingly. "Don't listen to him, Katie!"

"The world of science needs this baby's beautiful brain!" Tali said dramatically, throwing both arms around Katie again while giving Shiro a horrified look.

Katie giggled, surprised to see Shiro get into the playful banter Matt and Tali usually engaged, the 'Whose position was better and more important and more fun?' one where there were absolutely no hard feelings at the end, just a lot of laughter. Shiro was the one who stayed out of it and smiled patiently while they went at it, occasionally rolling his eyes and then give Katie a look that said 'What can you do?' that always made her grin. But to her further surprise, Shiro seemed fairly serious.

"Math and science is just as important to a pilot as it is to communications and engineers." He said. "But, in all honesty, a pilot with a better understanding of math and science would be more beneficial to missions like this. Besides, Matt, weren't you the one who was complaining about how Katie bested your first-year simulator time when she was in sixth grade?" He looked at Katie. "I'm surprised they didn't test your aptitude for being a pilot as well."

"Oh, well," Katie said, blushing some. "My simulator scores are just okay. But my math and science have always been great, so it was kind of agreed that I'd just be tested for those two positions."

"Well," Shiro said, giving her a small smile. "For what it's worth, I think you could still be a great pilot someday."

Katie's blush deepened as she stumbled around a 'Thank you'.

Everyone lauded her academic record. Her high IQ, her perfect test scores, her aptitude for computers and robotics. Even her extra-curricular activities highlighted her genius: The captain of the robotics club; the only fifth grader to be on her private school's junior high division math team; and, not as publically known, she was currently working on equipment that could be used to pick up various information like sound waves from beyond the reaches of the solar system.

But no one had ever thought she should be a pilot. Sure, she had thought about it a lot, read all the manuals that were available at her school and even a few from her father's library, but she had never put too much thought into it. It'd be cool, definitely, but she'd never be great. She'd like to try someday, just to know the basics.

But having Shiro say that she could be… Having anyone say that she could be was great… But hearing Shiro say it—Shiro who was still considered a kid but the most idolized pilot in the whole world, even before he was awarded any medals or chosen for Kerberos—made her wonder if it was actually possible.

Maybe it wasn't such a far-fetched idea after all.

"So, Shiro, where's Keith hiding?" Tali asked, looking around the ballroom.

"He has a simulator test in the morning," Shiro said. "So it was better he stay in the dorms and rest up for it."

"I have a feeling Iverson also had a part in this," Tali said, hand on her hip. "Because we both know Keith could pass a simulator test in his sleep."

"Who's Keith?" Shinji and Katie asked at the same time.

"Well, because Shiro already wasn't enough of a good person between getting some of the best grades at the Garrison—" Matt said.

"—And best simulator scores." Tali added.

"—And tutoring other students." Matt added.

"—And organizing the annual food and toy drive." Tali said, now ticking off things on her fingers.

"—And rescuing cats from trees and helping little old ladies across the street…" Matt said.

"Hey, it was only one cat and it was just a little kitten!" Shiro said.

"Anyways," Tali said, waving a hand to brush away Shiro's comment. "Because Mister I'm-So-Perfect over here embodies all that is good and pure in the universe, the Garrison recruited him for outreach."

"What does that mean?" Shinji asked, brow furrowing.

"Oh, you know. School visits preaching the good ol' Garrison Gospel. Tour the world, visit space and all that." Tali said.

"But I was also asked to mentor a kid who has high simulator scores." Shiro said, taking control before Tali or Matt could continue in their teasing praise. Katie tried to hide her smile at seeing how Shiro's blush went to his ears, though it was hard to see with his natural skin tone. "He's actually about to finish his first year at the Garrison. Shinji, you might have some classes with him. His full name is Keith Kwan. He's a good kid. A bit of a loner, but he's a good friend once he warms up to you. A phenomenal pilot, too."

"Shiro's practically adopted him." Matt said. "Or Keith's adopted Shiro. We're not sure which."

"Poor kid's going to be wandering around like a lost puppy while you're gone." Tali said. Shiro gave her a look and opened his mouth, but she waved her hand and said, "Don't worry, Shiro. I'll look out for him. Make sure he eats and force him to interact with his peers and all that good stuff. I promise."

"Keith's an orphan. He stays at a group home when the Garrison's on break. He was a bit of a wild child until Shiro got ahold of him," Matt confided in Katie and Shinji later as Shiro got dragged away to shake hands with someone. "He's a good kid, like Shiro said. I think Shiro's worried about him, though."

"Takashi's always worrying about someone." Shinji said with a small smile. "He can be such a mother hen somedays. But I think it's what makes him such a good pilot. He looks out for his crew and keeps track of everything and everyone."

"It makes people want to follow him." Katie said, without realizing she had said anything. "Because he may worry, but it shows the heart behind the orders. He won't do anything that purposefully hurts anyone, won't ask anyone to do anything he wouldn't do himself. He won't do anything too risky or take all the credit for himself."

"You've got him nailed down to the tee, Katie." Tali said, accepting a drink from a passing waiter. "To. The. Tee."

 **Five months and five days after take-off:**

The second time Katie Holt met Shinji Shirogane, the mood was much less celebratory.

It wasn't a funeral. It was a memorial service. A funeral implied that there was bodies to bury or cremate.

Three bodies, floating around in space for all eternity.

Katie sat ramrod straight on the pew beside her mother, staring straight ahead. A bundle of tissues were clenched in her fists in her lap, but she didn't use any of them, instead passing them back and forth to the two women beside her: her mother on her right, and Tali on her left.

She looked past all the flowers, the three portraits displayed on easels. She ignored the comforting words of the minister, and the translator dutifully repeating every word into Japanese for the Shirogane relatives who spoke little to no English, as well as for the official broadcast in Japan. She instead decided to focus on the stained-glass that made up the back wall of the church, an artist's interpretation of Jesus ascending into Heaven to the shock of his followers, all on the ground.

She couldn't help but feel like there couldn't have been a better scene that represented the current situation and how she felt. Her dad, Matt, Shiro… three of the most perfect men she had ever known… all so good and kind-hearted and smart… gone up into the heavens, leaving those still on the ground stunned.

Katie tore her eyes away and looked across to the other front pew. Dr. Shirogane sitting just as straight as Katie, his daughter pressing her face into his side to hide her tears. His hand in his daughter's hair, holding her tightly as his own tears silently slid down his cheeks. On his other side, Mrs. Shirogane rocked back and forth, silently sobbing into her own tissues. And Shinji, in his Garrison uniform, the orange and white the only color in the room. Like her, he stared straight ahead, past everything in front of him.

She had to talk to him. She couldn't find time before the service, where she stood beside her mother in the church foyer across from the Shirogane family. Shinji had been swarmed by so many family members; aunts, uncles, cousins, his grandparents… Katie had been surrounded by family as well. Then there were so many people coming up to shake her hand, so many Garrison officials and strangers and family friends. Matt, Shiro and Tali's friends from the Garrison, including a few girls who had flanked Tali leading up to the ceremony, when Mrs. Holt had grabbed Tali and insisted she sit with the family, which had made the usually composed Tali start to sob.

Katie closed her eyes. The reception, where all those who hadn't been able to fill up the sanctuary would come and offer their condolences. She would get Shinji aside at the reception. She would tell him about her suspicions. How things didn't sound right. About how the questions she and her mother asked were answered with "That's classified information".

 _Why was it classified?_ She wondered. What exactly was the Garrison hiding from a grieving widow and mother? A daughter and sister? Did the Shiroganes get the same answer about their beloved son and brother?

Katie wanted answers. She was so sure Shinji would be the same.

Which was why she tried to separate from her mother as soon as they got into the reception hall, which was essentially another session of hand-shaking and accepting condolences. Muttering a feeble excuse about going to the bathroom, she zeroed in on Shinji and tried to get to him as fast as possible. However, in her haste, she bumped into someone.

"Sorry." The person said immediately, turning to look at Katie, who blinked, stunned. She looked up at the speaker, a boy about two years older than her, also in an orange and white Garrison uniform.

He looked East Asian, with shaggy black hair with long bangs and longer hair around his neck and deep dark eyes rimmed with purplish bruises similar to the ones around Katie's own eyes. Like her, he hadn't been able to sleep for the last several nights. Maybe had spent a few of those nights crying as well. Briefly, she wondered if he was one of the Shirogane's relatives. But then she saw the brass nametag pinned to his chest: **KWAN**. Not a Japanese name. But it was familiar name.

"You're Keith." She blurted out before she could stop herself. He nodded, not even looking surprised.

"And you must be Matt's sister. Catherine?" He said, his mouth twisting some and his eyebrows furrowing at his attempt to remember her name.

"Katelyn." Katie corrected. "But everyone calls me Katie. You… You knew Matt? And Shiro?"

"Yeah." Keith said quietly. "I… Yeah. I'm sorry. For your loss."

"Thank you." Katie said, nodding her head some. Before either of them could force more awkward conversation, Keith bowed his head, then turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd. Katie watched him for a moment, then started back on her path towards Shinji. She stopped a few steps away, watching as Shinji stood silently as a tall, lanky Latino boy and a slightly taller and stockier boy with darker skin, both in Garrison uniforms. She got close enough to hear the conversation.

"—So, basically, your brother was the whole reason I wanted to go to Garrison in the first place." The Latino boy was saying. Pidge took a bit of pity on the boy, being prone to nervous rambles herself. "He's my hero. And… And I don't know why I'm telling you all this, other than I'm just really just so sad he's gone, and I can't offer enough condolences. Your brother was a great guy, an amazing pilot and—"

"Yes." Shinji said tightly. "He was. Thank you, Cadet Sanchez-Garcia, Cadet Kekoa, for your condolences. If you will excuse me…"

Shinji turned and walked away, leaving both boys standing stunned. Katie frowned and pushed between them to get to Shinji.

"Excuse me!" She said as she squeezed past, evoking a yelp from the Latino boy.

"Shinji!" Katie called, slowing down as Shinji froze, turning to face her. "Shinji, can we talk? In private?'

Shinji stared at her suspiciously, but nodded, gesturing with his head towards a door that led to a nearby kitchen.

They stepped into the hall and Shinji said,

"What is it?"

She explained her doubts, her concerns, her suspicions. Her plans and determination to discover the truth.

He let her finish. He didn't interrupt. But he didn't look particularly interested, or angered, or even upset. His face was just blank.

"So, I feel like we need to figure out what really happened." Katie finished breathlessly.

"You are delusional." Shinji said in a low voice.

Katie blinked, feeling herself taking an unconscious, defensive step backwards.

"I'm not delusional." She argued. "Something is going on, a cover up or something. We both know Shiro was too good of a pilot for it to be pilot error like the Garrison claims."

"Takashi was a good pilot, yes. But he was also human, Katie." Shinji said, voice tight. "Humans make errors. And what does it matter anyway, if it is a cover-up? That isn't going to bring anyone—not Takashi, not your dad, not Matt—back to life. They're dead, Katie. Nothing's going to change that."

With that, he pushed past her, leaving her alone.

She stood there shaking, the tears finally coming to her for the first time that day, despite promising herself that she wouldn't cry. Not today. Not in front of other people. She clenched her fists and curled her lips.

 _Fine, then,_ She thought. _I'll just do this on my own._

 **TO: SSHIROGANE**

 **FROM: KHOLT314**

 **SUBJECT: KERBEROS**

 **Dear Shinji,**

 **Despite what you insisted the last time we spoke, I am not delusional. Maybe it won't make a difference, and maybe it won't bring my dad and our brothers back to life, but it will bring closure. That's what my mom says. (She, by the way, does NOT think I am delusional.)**

 **Since we have last spoken, I have hacked as far as I can into the Garrison's information about the Kerberos mission. There was a log, one that indicated that the crew landed on Kerberos without any problem. That they were conducting research. No recording of a lift-off, though. The last entry was from my dad. They were going to collect ice samples.**

 **But they never came back.**

 **So, if they got to Kerberos just fine, and were actually doing research on the planet, why is the Garrison still insisting on calling this a 'pilot error'?**

 **Katie Holt**

 **TO: KHOLT314**

 **FROM: SSHIROGANE**

 **SUBJECT: RE: KERBEROS**

 **Katie,**

 **You do realize you are sending this to my Galaxy Garrison e-mail address, correct?**

 **Seriously, give it up already. Don't contact me again.**

 **SS**

 **TO: SSHIROGANE**

 **FROM: KHOLT314**

 **SUBJECT: NOT PILOT ERROR!**

 **Shinji,**

 **I am contacting you to inform you that your request for me to not contact you again has been denied.**

 **Oh, and thanks for tipping off Commander Iverson. I'm presuming it was you. Just had to endure him in my living room lecturing me about confidential, classified information and how it wasn't for little girls. Gave him the memory stick with all that I had downloaded. Or, at least, that's what he thinks.**

 **Think about it, it doesn't make sense! Why call it pilot error when it could simply be "Oh, whoops, spacesuit malfunction" or something? Are they intentionally trying to put the fault on Shiro and if so why?**

 **Also, have been building a device that can pick up sound-waves all the way to Kerberos and beyond. I keep getting one word, or what sounds like a word. It's "Voltron". I'm still trying to do some research as to what it is, but I'm running into too many dead ends. Have you heard of this word by any chance?**

 **Katelyn Holt**

 **TO: KHOLT314**

 **FROM: SSHIROGANE**

 **SUBJECT: RE: NOT PILOT ERROR!**

 **Katelyn,**

 **It's not a cover up. Obviously the Garrison is still trying to analyze exactly what happened, but have a general idea, enough to get people off their backs. Get over yourself.**

 **And I don't know what a "Voltron" is. Your stupid machine is probably making some weird sound that sounds like that.**

 **I mean it: do not contact me again.**

 **SS**

 **P.S. And yes, I was the one who told Iverson.**

 **TO: SSHIROGANE**

 **FROM: KHOLT314**

 **SUBJECT: RE: NOT PILOT ERROR!**

 **Shinji,**

 **Then why don't they just say so?**

 **No, it's not my machine. And my machine is smarter than you and always will be.**

 **And no.**

 **Katelyn**

 **P.S. You suck.**

 **TO: KHOLT314**

 **FROM: SSHIROGANE**

 **SUBJECT: OLIVE BRANCH**

 **Katelyn,**

 **After a great deal of thought, I do see that your theories do have some weight. I would like to help you in all further investigation of this cover-up. How would you like an opportunity to get into the staff computers here at the Garrison? I can sneak you in and out. I know you've gotten in before, making excuses to talk to the instructors and that sort of thing. But that's only during business hours and probably not enough time for you to get everything. We have a free-night in town coming up, and all the instructors have to be nearby to keep a watch on the students. It'd be the perfect opportunity for you to have all the time you need.**

 **SS**

 **TO: SSHIROGANE**

 **FROM: KHOLT314**

 **SUBJECT: RE: OLIVE BRANCH**

 **Shinji,**

 **Thank you so much! I'm so glad that I was finally able to convince you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! It's exactly what I need and I promise you I'll share everything I discover! Just tell me the date, time and where we should meet up!**

 **Katie**

 **Eleven months after take-off, five months before The Arrival:**

Katie couldn't even begin to process what had just happened.

Escorted off the Garrison premises. Banned from setting foot there again. Her acceptance retracted.

She didn't understand. She was supposed to have a full hour. She was so close… Shinji promised her that no one would be around. And yet Iverson shows up, guards in tow, awaiting orders.

And now she had two guards standing over her where she sat fuming on the bus stop bench, waiting for the next bus back to the city.

"It's a long drive home. How about I buy you a drink for the road?"

She looked up to see Shinji in his Garrison uniform. All around them, she could see more uniform-clad students milling around on their rare one night a month in town, the one night they could come and go as they pleased. The one night that Shinji insisted would be the best day for her to come.

Shinji smiled up at the guards, but it wasn't the smile that she remembered, the one that was so much like Shiro's. This one… This one had very little life in it. It was forced.

"I promise I'll have her back here before her bus arrives. Please, I just want to spend a few minutes with my old friend, Miss Holt."

The guards exchanged a look, then one pointed to a covered pavilion lined with vending machines.

"That is as far as you can go." The guard said.

Shinji nodded and started walking. Katie followed.

"What happened?" She asked as she followed him. "You said I would have an hour. What went wrong? Iverson was supposed to be here. So why'd he go back?"

"I'm not quite sure." Shinji said, pulling out his wallet and examining the drink choices of a soda machine. "Are you more of a Coke or Pepsi kind of person?"

"Forget about the drinks for a moment," Katie said. "Iverson was too well prepared. And he's basically torn my Garrison acceptance letter to shreds. I'm not allowed anywhere near the property ever again."

"Wow." Shinji said, now feeding the vending machine quarters. "That's going to put a dent in this operation of yours."

"Argh!" Katie exclaimed, kicking the nearest vending machine. She heard something fall to the bottom of the machine, and she quickly checked it, hoping for something good, something to improve her mood. She frowned. Only peanuts. She loved peanut butter, but hated peanuts. They were too dry…

Then, suddenly something clicked into her head.

"You don't seem that upset about this," She said, glaring up at Shinji, who popped open his can of soda. "Especially considering this was your idea."

Shinji didn't say anything, only took a long sip of his drink.

Katie straightened up, fists balling at her side.

"You set me up, didn't you?" She said through gritted teeth. "You invited me here, helped me get in, then tipped off Iverson, didn't you?"

"I still can't believe you fell for it." Shinji said. "But I knew you wouldn't give up otherwise. You're too stubborn, Katie. But you were going to get yourself hurt."

"You said you would help me! You lied to me! You betrayed me!" Katie yelled. "Yes, I'm hurt, but you're the one responsible!"

Shinji stared at her evenly.

"Do everyone a favor, Katelyn Holt, and let the dead rest in peace." He said. "And do yourself a favor and do what I did: get grief counseling."

He turned to see one of the guards approaching, the bus pulling into the station.

"I believe your ride is here." He said.

Katie held back the tears as best she could.

"I will never forgive you for this, Shinji Shirogane." She hissed. "I'm going to find out what happened, and Iverson can't stop me. You can't stop me. I'm going to find out the truth no matter what."

With that, she stormed off, marching past the confused guard and getting on the bus without a word.

She did have a long ride, full of brushing away hot tears.

She closed her eyes, and thought of the video feeds, the information she had gotten before Iverson interrupted her. Before Shinji betrayed her.

The video feeds, the cameras that recorded everything from every angle outside the windshield. Hearing the voice of her father, her brother, Shiro, as they laughed and celebrated the safe arrival onto Kerberos.

There was no crash. There was no pilot error at all.

So what did happen? Where was her family? Where was Dad and Matt?

She opened her eyes and stared out the window.

She was going to find out. She had to find out. She was not going to stop searching, even if she was the only one.

And, on that bus ride, she slowly starting to piece together her next plan.

She was going to get back into Galaxy Garrison.

But she wasn't going to do so as Katelyn Holt.

It was on that bus-ride home that Katie Holt died. And Katie Holt was going to stay dead until she proved that her father and brother weren't dead. Until her family was whole again.

From the ashes, Pidge Gunderson was born.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

"Dang…" Lance said, eyes wide as Pidge finished their story. "Wow, that was just…"

"Harsh?" Hunk said.

"Horribly, horribly cruel." Allura said, shaking her head, gazing at the youngest Paladin with sympathy.

"Yeah, well," Pidge said with a shrug, arms folded over their chest. "At least I now have the satisfaction of being right about everything."

"How did you manage to hide your identity from him once you were at the Garrison?" Keith asked, brow furrowed. "First and second years take some classes together, regardless of whether they're fighter class or cargo class; if he was around you enough, he could have figured it out."

"Oh, I'm not a first year. Technically." Pidge said. "That's how I ended up meeting Lance and Hunk. See, the Garrison won't let pilots test into higher levels because they need a certain amount of time on the simulator. But if you're engineering or communications, they'll let you test into higher classes. Granted, you need a lot of letters of recommendation and super high grades to get tested, but I had both of those things. The plan to this had two key priorities: the first was to stay away from Shinji as much as possible, and the second was to get into space as fast as possible."

"And how did you explain the whole 'Pidge Gunderson', not 'Holt' thing?" Lance asked. "Especially if they knew you had already been accepted?"

"I told the administrators at my school that I didn't want to be associated with the Kerberos mission. Didn't want people to want to befriend me out of sympathy or to be treated differently or have people talk about me behind my back." Pidge said with a shrug. "So they assumed that the Garrison knew that I was going in under my mom's maiden name. As far as the Garrison's concerned, Pidge Gunderson just coincidentally attended the same school as Katelyn Holt."

"And how did you explain the 'he' not 'she' and 'Mister' not 'Miss'?" Hunk asked.

"Oh, all that took was a little bit of forgery and thievery on my account." Pidge explained. "My teachers and Headmaster gave me all the letters to take to the Garrison, and I asked a friend of mine who helped out in the office to swipe a few of the official sheets of paper so I could re-type all the letters using different pronouns."

"You went through a lot of effort to avoid this boy and to learn about what happened to your family." Coran observed, stroking his mustache. "It is quite admirable."

"Yeah, but it means that me and my mom did a whole lot of lying in order to do so," Pidge pointed out glumly.

"Only proving your determination for discovering the truth." Allura said. "As well as your loyalty to your friends and your beliefs."

"I'm assuming that you have not told Shiro about this." Keith said.

"Yeah, well, it'd be kind of weird to just say 'Hey, Shiro, no hard feelings, but I hate your brother who is a total jerk-wad to me and I have no idea how you two could possibly be related'." Pidge said, rolling their eyes.

"True that." Lance said, standing up, putting his hands on his lower back as he stretched. "So. I'm gonna assume we're going to reschedule movie night."

"Aw, man, it is getting late." Hunk said, glancing at the clock. "Can we do it tomorrow night instead?"

"I see no harm in doing so, but we should probably confirm with Shiro." Allura said as she also stood up.

"Speaking of Shiro," Keith said, standing up straight so that he wasn't leaning against the wall. "We should probably find him and check in on him."

"Yeah, he did seem kind of upset." Lance said with a nod. "Can't blame him."

"I'll go find him," Pidge said, standing up and stretching. "It'll give Shiro an excuse to tell me to go to bed."

"Okay, but don't actually stay up too late." Hunk said, ruffling Pidge's hair.

"Sure thing, Space Dad Junior." Pidge said with a smirk.

"Hey, I am not Space Dad Junior. I am now and forever will be the official Mom Friend." Hunk said, folding his arms over his chest.

"Ain't that the truth." Lance said with a grin.

"Goodnight, guys," Pidge said as they ducked past, trying to decide where to start the Shiro hunt.

As they wandered around the castle, Pidge wondered if this was how Shiro felt nearly every single night as he went about the "Pidge Hunt" as Lance referred to it as. Finding whatever nook or cranny that Pidge had wedged into to work and had inadvertently fallen asleep in, before Shiro carried the Green Paladin back to their bedroom. It was weird to be on this side of the nightly hunt.

Pidge was only slightly surprised to find Shiro in the observatory room with the Balmera crystal. Everyone tended to drift into that room when they were homesick.

"Hey." Pidge said, taking a seat beside Shiro.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Shiro said, glancing down at Pidge.

"Shouldn't you?" Pidge asked, putting their hands behind them to support them. Pidge wrinkled their nose. "You stink a little, no offense. Were you on the training deck?"

"For a little while, yes." Shiro admitted with a frown. "I… Do you ever feel like if you just keep your body moving, your mind will eventually catch up so that when you stop you've got everything together in one place?"

"Sometimes." Pidge admitted. "But I think I limit it more to moving my fingers. You know, analyzing data and making repairs and all that sort of thing."

"You really hate the training deck, don't you?" Shiro said with a small chuckle.

"Ugh, yes." Pidge said with a frown, sticking out their tongue in disgust. "But it's a necessary evil."

"Yeah." Shiro said, staring down at his right hand, arm somewhat raised as he moved his fingers.

Pidge watched him for a moment.

"Shiro, are you okay?" Pidge asked.

"I'm… I don't know anymore. Probably not." Shiro admitted. "I thought I was. I thought I was doing okay. That I was getting better. But then I'm confronted with something that reminds me of all these gaps I have in my memories, and… And I can't bring them back. I don't know if I've lost them, if I can recover them. I don't know if I want to recover them. That video, those photos, they reminded me of everything that I can't remember. And I don't know how I remember what I do remember, why those things stick with me. Like memories of your dad and Matt… I remember being on the Kerberos mission with them. I have like these vague snippets of memories of being at the Garrison with Matt. But I didn't remember Tali, even though she was almost always with me and Matt. I don't remember any of those photos being taken. I don't remember living in America or Japan or on Earth in general. I can barely remember words from my first language sometimes. Pidge, I didn't even really remember that I have a brother and a sister."

Pidge felt their heart break. They reached up and put their hand comfortingly on Shiro's shoulder.

"It's okay, Shiro. That you can't remember. You've probably got, like, some sort of lingering affect from a concussion or something, so it's not your fault. And you're getting better, remembering more all the time. But no one wants you to feel rushed to remember. You're healing. We all know that and respect that. And it hasn't changed who you are one bit, you know. You're still the same person you've always been, personality wise. And… And before you start to worry, it doesn't change how we see you as a leader. You always bring out the best in people. You always have, Shiro. You always will."

Shiro was quiet, not looking at Pidge. Pidge slipped their hand down Shiro's arm, taking his hand in theirs.

"We can help you remember stuff, if you want." Pidge said. "I mean, I've only met your family a few times, but you and Tali were almost always at my house when the Garrison gave out free weekends. So I could help you. And Keith, too, since you two were friends before. And…"

"Katie." Shiro said suddenly.

Pidge stopped rambling and looked up at Shiro, who was smiling down at them.

"Thank you." He said.

Pidge grinned widely. Impulsively, they threw their arms around Shiro, who returned the hug.

"Alright," Shiro said, gently patting the back of Pidge's head. "Bed time."

"I'll go to bed if you do." Pidge said, pulling back to look up at Shiro. "And none of that stupid 'lay down for an hour and pretend to try to fall asleep only to claim insomnia and work-out' thing you do."

"I don't do that," Shiro said defensively.

"Yeah, you do." Pidge argued as they got to their feet.

"And how exactly do you know that?" Shiro asked as he followed suit. Then he frowned. "Let me guess, the mice."

"They told Allura, who decided to rant about it to me for some reason." Pidge explained. "I think it was just because I was an easily captured audience."

"Is that why she was glaring at me at breakfast this morning?" Shiro asked, absent-mindedly running a hand through his hair with a sigh.

"Yeah. She was planning on confronting you after movie night." Pidge said, wrapping their arm around Shiro's and gently tugging him towards the door. "Something about having you already relaxed and therefore easily vulnerable and bullied into a full-night's sleep."

"Ah, well. Now that I know I've been caught, she can be assured that I'll either stop or find something different to do instead." Shiro said.

"I think we'd all prefer that to be sleep." Pidge said. "Seriously, was the last time you really slept two weeks ago after we freed that planet with the bird people? And only because Hunk accidentally initiated a cuddle pile in the lounge and we all slept for like a whole day, all of us pretty much on top of you?"

"Yeah, maybe." Shiro said with a shrug. "It's hard to tell anymore."

"Look, you have two options: find a way to sleep on your own, or you'll be on the bottom of a cuddle pile every night for the rest of your life." Pidge said.

"Even when we get back to Earth?" Shiro asked teasingly.

"Oh, especially then. Because Earth has king sized beds. Only reason why we don't do cuddle piles more often is because we all like mattresses, and there isn't one big enough around here for all of us." Pidge said. Then, Pidge frowned. "Uh, Shiro? We just walked past your door…"

"I know." Shiro said as they continued to walk.

"That's where your bed is." Pidge reminded him.

"I know." Shiro said again.

"Then why are we still walking?" Pidge asked.

"A few reasons." Shiro said. "The first is that I'm walking you to your bedroom."

Pidge grinned.

"Such a gallant gentleman," They said. "Now, is that Paladin Code or Garrison?"

"It's Shirogane Code." Shiro said. "But it's also a little selfish."

"Why is that?" Pidge asked as they stopped in front of Pidge's bedroom door.

"Because I wanted to keep talking with you for a little while longer." Shiro said.

Pidge couldn't stop the blush, or the shy smile, as Shiro gently leaned down and gave Pidge a kiss on the top of their head.

"Good night, Katie." He whispered.

"Good night, Takashi." Pidge whispered back.

He gave their hair a little ruffle, then turned to head back to his room.

Pidge hesitated, then called,

"Shiro!"

He paused and turned to look at them.

"If… I don't know if this makes you feel any better…" Pidge said. "You may not remember your family right now. But I promise you, they remember you."

Pidge watched as Shiro's shoulders relaxed and a smile spread slowly across his face.

"It does, actually." He said. "Thank you, Pidge."

Pidge stood outside their door for a moment, watching him leave. Then, they grinned and went inside, happy but exhausted.

As they climbed into bed, they decided that everything Shinji Shirogane had put them through was worth it. Worth finding out that they were right all along. Worth exploring life as a boy and solidifying their theory of being non-binary. Worth learning that their family was alive and could be reunited. Worth getting involved with Voltron and bonding with Green. Worth every moment they spent with Hunk, Keith, Lance, Allura, Coran, the mice, the Lions, all the tech…

And Shiro.

Pidge very happily slept very long and very hard that night.

Until that sleep was rudely interrupted.

"Pidge! Pidge!"

Pidge blearily opened their eyes to see a blurry yellow blob shaking them, needing a few seconds to realize that the said yellow blob was actually a pajama-clad Hunk trying to wake them.

"Hunk?" Pidge groaned, propping up on their elbow slightly, reaching for their glasses on the stand beside their bunk. "What's wrong? Are the Galra attacking? Why isn't the alarm working?"

"Pidge," Hunk said, eyes wide. "Lani and Tali posted a new video."

"Great." Pidge said sarcastically, glowering slightly. "I can't wait to watch it. In the morning."

"No, Pidge, you don't understand!" Hunk said, grabbing Pidge's shoulder before they could take their glasses back off to roll over and go back to sleep.

Pidge frowned up at their friend, confused. Hunk took a deep breath, then said,

"The Galra are in the process of trying to take over Earth."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

The camera shook a little as Tali adjusted it on the stand, unseen from view. She nodded, then sat back down, Lani right beside her. The room they were in was completely dark, and there was only a few lit candles providing light.

"So." Lani said with a small smile. "This totally was not how we planned to do our first video in the same time-zone together."

"Earth is under attack." Tali said without further preamble, face serious. "Aliens proclaiming to be from the Galra Empire have created a blockade around Earth at approximately Three Hundred Hours Pacific Time this morning. All military establishments all around the world are under lockdown, with Galra soldiers taking over and taking everyone within those establishments as hostages. We… There have been no human casualty reports yet. But without access to any weapons or other military technology, there's no chance of anyone getting into those facilities or taking down these fighters."

"So far, the Galra have largely left the civilian population alone, and have promised to not attack provided the human race does not rebel." Lani added. "But we don't know how long that's going to last."

"We know we say this with every single video Lani and I have made over the last… I can't believe it's been nearly half a year…" Tali said. "But, Shiro, Katie, Lance, Keith, Hunk? If you've got this Voltron, whatever it is, and it can get these guys off our planet, please come home. Sooner, rather than later, would be really nice right now."

Both girls turned behind them as there was noise in the background. Tali quickly reached out for the camera while Lani blew out the candles. There was a bit of static, then darkness and silence.

In the bright lights of the castle's dining room, there was silence there as well.

"Okay, do not panic…" Shiro said, holding out his hands in front of him as if to stop a stampede.

"Too late for that!" Hunk exclaimed. "I am in full panic mode!"

"Shiro's right, though. We can't panic." Keith said with a frown. "Look, we should have seen this coming for some time now. I mean, all five Paladins of Voltron born and raised on the same planet? There's no way that Zarkon wouldn't have made Earth top of his priority list."

"Honestly, I'm just surprised he's only doing so now." Pidge added with a frown. "I mean, we did injure one of his ships in our solar system. If we prevented it from making a jump, it could have easily turned right back around and taken over Earth."

"I think that, like back on Arus, Zarkon kept his troops lying in wait." Allura said with a frown. "But why he chose now, I do not know or understand."

"Or how he knew that we would know," Lance added, drumming his fingertips against the tabletop.

"I don't think Zarkon knows that we know yet." Pidge said. "If he just had his troops start the invasion, which we only know about because of this video, then he may not have all of his troops in position, waiting to spring a trap on us."

"I, for one, would not like a repeat of what happened the last time we walked into one of Zarkon's traps." Keith said, folding his arms over his chest. "You know, the one that ended with all of us ending up in all corners of the universe thanks to that witch messing with our wormhole?"

"Yeah, well, as much as I'd like to avoid that too, we again have no choice but to walk into this trap." Lance said with a frown. "Earth is totally defenseless… Our families and friends are there, and I can only imagine that's it's only a matter of time until the Galra gather all of them to use as hostages, further baiting us out there."

"If we're lucky, and we assume the Galra are trying to deliberately draw us out, we'd get some sort of notification from them. Maybe asking for our surrender or something." Shiro said. "But if we can get there before that, we may still have the element of surprise on our hands."

"So, same plan of attack, then? Wormhole in, Voltron formed, and take out as much as we can?" Pidge asked.

"That may not be wise." Coran said. "After all, they seemed to anticipate that plan. To do so again would be perhaps exactly what they predict to happen this time."

"But if we go in, our Lions separated, they could anticipate that, too." Lance said with a frown. "If they anticipate that we know that they anticipated our plan from before, therefore anticipating that we know they're anticipating us to do the same thing again and—"

"We get it, Lance." Shiro said, blessedly intervening. "Look, whatever we do, we're still going to have this element of surprise on our side. If we go in with Voltron formed, we go in with Voltron formed. If we go in with just our lions, we will still have time to form Voltron."

"Which is better?" Hunk asked.

"We can probably assume that there won't be as many command ships as there were at Zarkon's headquarters." Shiro said. "But if they have ground reinforcements, they can just as easily be recalled to space. So if we go in with our individual lions, we could probably take out more at one time while still able to tag-team them, and also more easily intercept those ground troops."

"And, again, form Voltron as needed." Keith added with a nod. "I like this plan."

"Same." Pidge said with a nod.

"Let's do it." Lance said with a grin.

Shiro, Allura and Coran nodded.

"Alright then," Allura said. "Everyone into positions: We are headed for Earth."

"We'll be dropping out of the wormhole and within range of Earth in three minutes." Allura declared from the controls. "Paladins, to your lions."

They did not need to be told twice.

Pidge had never felt this uneasy prior to a fight as they grabbed the zip-line handles. Even the ones that were so sudden, the ambushes and the rush and the desperate need to protect themselves and the others. Oh, and the whole rest of the universe, too. But it wasn't until Pidge was in the pilot seat of Green, hands on the controls, that they started to feel relaxed.

"Alright, Green." Pidge whispered, relaxing into the seat, knowing this was the last moment they had to be relaxed until the end of the battle, whether won or lost. "You ready?"

Green purred, the sound surrounding Pidge and warming them.

"Then let's go." Pidge said, pushing the thrusters forward at Shiro's command.

They dropped out of the wormhole the second Green left the hanger, perfectly synchronized with Red, Blue, Yellow and Black.

"Time to find out what we're up against." Keith said.

"Ah, we can handle a small fleet." Lance said, and Pidge smiled at the mental image of Lance's huge grin, which they knew had to be on his face. Lance's confidence was contagious and it surged through Pidge as the wormhole opened.

And then they all saw the 'small fleet' they were up against.

"Oh, quiznak." Hunk groaned.

'Quiznak' did not cover the situation. They could barely see Earth through the command ships and all the smaller fighters.

"Take out as many of those small fighters as you can!" Shiro ordered. "Those are harder to take on when Voltron is formed!"

"On it, boss!" Keith said as the Red Lion jumped into action, quite literally blazing through.

"Hey, try to draw them away from the international space station!" Pidge said, making Green circle around a cluster that were close to the station. "It's totally defenseless!"

"Um, guys, we have a problem!" Hunk said. "Those command ships do not like our strategy!"

"That hasn't exactly been a problem in the past!" Keith pointed out. "For us, at least."

"Yeah, except—"

Hunk was cut off as Lance yelled out in surprise, Blue being struck by an ion cannon, spiraling some and barely missing hitting Black and Shiro.

"Yeah, I'd say that's a problem!" Lance said once he recovered from the jolt, steadying Blue.

"We've got a bigger problem!" Shiro said as he watched the ships begin to turn, focusing on where Green was fending off fighters around the space station. "Hunk, Keith, help Pidge protect the station! Lance, get as many of the other fighters as you can! Black and I are going to use the jaw blade to take down some of these command ships!"

"Coran and I can help Lance with the fighters." Allura added.

The strategy was working, and working well. Pidge, Keith and Hunk took a lot of fire from the canons, but also destroyed many of the fighters. Shiro managed to take out the canons on three ships, apparently forcing them to retreat.

"They're worm-holing out!" Coran exclaimed in surprise.

"It's not just the ones' Shiro's hit, too," Keith said, watching out of the corner of his eye as intact command ships also took the wormholes out.

"That doesn't make sense!" Allura said as she focused a shot on a fighter on Black's tail. "Those ships have barely taken any shots this whole battle!"

"I have such a bad feeling about this…" Hunk said.

"Uh, Hunk? I'm sorry to inform you that you're right to have a bad feeling this…" Lance said, eyes going wide.

Because something was worm-holing in.

Something much larger than the fleeing command ships.

Something that those command ships were making room for.

"That ship is huge!" Pidge said in dismay. "Bigger than any we've ever faced before, including Zarkon's command!"

"And it's got more than one canon." Shiro said with a frown. "Alright, Voltron, now."

"Right!" The other four Paladins said together.

But, as the Paladins move their lions into position, the Galra struck.

Pidge screamed as Green got struck by one of the blasts, but didn't even have time to recover before taking another hit.

They heard six voices cry out in panic "PIDGE!" but couldn't respond. Lights were flashing, alarms were sounding… Green roared in a mixture of pain and panic, Pidge knew there was definitely something broken, could feel it through their bond with their Lion…

And Green was going down.

Falling through Earth's atmosphere.

The control panel shorted out, and though Pidge tried everything, nothing was working, nothing was stabilizing Green. They heard Shiro shout their name one more time before only static was heard through the helmet.

And the Green Lion and her Paladin crashed on Earth.

Pidge sat very still, panting, in the seconds following the crash, trying to get their heart rate down again. They took some deep breaths, mentally assessing any physical damage but other than dizziness and a few bumps, they were fine. Pidge then got out of the pilot's chair, struggling to get out of the cockpit to assess the damage to Green and figure out where they were.

Pidge stumbled down out of Green, feet hitting sand and dirt. Looking around, they saw that they were in a desert. Pidge ran past Green, looking around for a landmark or anything.

What they saw made them tilt their head.

"Well. That's convenient. I guess." They said.

Because the only landmark they saw was a small cabin, with a red, dust-covered hover-bike parked beside it. Of all the places to land, they had landed right in front of Keith's weird hermit hut in the middle of the Nevada desert.

It was also a blessing. Pidge knew Keith had tools in that cabin. Provided no one had raided it in Keith's absence. And since all their tools were currently in Green's hanger, Pidge hoped Keith wouldn't mind them using his tools.

Pidge ran back to assess Green, knowing that they had very little time to spare. They had to get Green back up and running and into orbit as fast as possible. Their team needed them. The entire planet needed them.

Pidge tore off the static-spewing helmet and walked around Green. The problem, they saw, wasn't bad. It could be fixed. The only problem was that Pidge wasn't sure how fast it could be fixed on their own. With a second person, it wouldn't take too long. Pidge knew from the static that they couldn't get anyone down to help them with this, nor would they want to. Everyone up there was needed. Which was why they needed to get a move on, fast.

"Just what the hell is that thing? And who the hell are you?"

Pidge froze and looked over the sand dune.

Pidge growled, fists curling.

The universe seemed to love playing cruel jokes on them.

Because standing on the sand dune was none other than the last person in the entire universe Pidge wanted to see.

Shinji Shirogane.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

Shinji frowned as he studied Pidge.

"Katie?" He said, sliding down the sandy hill. "Katie Holt?"

"Pidge." Pidge said with a growl. "My name is Pidge."

"Oh yeah, that's the alias you went by at the Garrison, wasn't it?" Shinji said, eyeing Green warily.

"Well, I wouldn't have had to if someone hadn't gotten me expelled before I even started!" Pidge yelled.

Shinji ignored Pidge, instead walking around Green.

"The videos make this thing look bigger." He commented. "And isn't it supposed to be blue?"

"No," Pidge said through gritted teeth. "Blue is a leg and blue. Green is an arm and green. Don't insult my Lion."

"A leg and an arm?" Shinji said, arching an eyebrow at them.

"Look, I don't have time for this." Pidge said. "But since you're here, and since you owe me, you're going to help me."

"With what, exactly?" Shinji asked.

"I have to get Green fixed up, and back into space, like five minutes ago." Pidge explained, now running towards Keith's cabin, barely aware that Shinji was following. "They can't form Voltron without me, and there's no way that that warship can't be taken down any other way."

"Voltron?" Shinji said, watching as Pidge started grabbing tools and parts from the crates and boxes hidden behind Keith's bike. "Wait, so that Blue Lion thing wasn't Voltron?"

"It's a part of Voltron, just like Green." Pidge explained. "Hold these."

"So there's more of those lions?" Shinji asked as Pidge loaded up his arms with tools and parts. "Is that where you all disappeared to? Space? With robot lions?"

"I don't have time for this right now!" Pidge snapped, throwing a useless part over their shoulder, where it landed with a muffled thud in the sand.

"No, I have questions, and you're going to answer them now, Katie!"

Pidge's back straightened as they turned, eyes on fire as they stuffed more parts and tools into Shinji's hands.

"Four people." They growled. "There are four people in the entire universe who can call me Katie right now. My mom is one. My dad and brother are two and three. You are not number four, Shinji Shirogane. And you will never be. You are going to shut up and do as I say, because if you don't, the people I care for are going to die, Earth is going to be just another planet under Galra rule, and the entire universe is doomed."

"No pressure." Shinji said bitterly, glaring back at Pidge.

"What the hell are you doing out here, anyways?" Pidge demanded, continuing their search.

"Like you and your two teammates, I snuck out of the Garrison. I've been doing some investigating on my own, you see. Found this place abandoned and come here when I can." Shinji explained. "Just happened to have snuck out before the aliens arrived and have been hiding out here ever since."

"This place does not belong to you!" Pidge snapped. Granted, they weren't entirely positive it belonged to Keith either, but whatever.

"Yeah, well, this is the last place I know for sure that my brother was when some idiot teenagers kidnapped him."

Pidge yanked a tool free and, satisfied, started to head back to Green.

"Come on." They said.

"Pidge! You are going to answer my questions!" Shinji said, following Pidge nonetheless.

"Not now!" Pidge snapped as they started to scale Green to get to the damaged area.

"No!" Shinji yelled, throwing the tools and parts to the ground. "Pidge, you're going to answer my questions now!"

"Really not the time!" Pidge yelled back.

"Yeah? Well, you would be demanding answers if it was Matt that crash landed to Earth after being declared dead in space for a year only to be kidnapped by four—sorry, three Garrison underclassmen and a washed out delinquent, and then disappear again without any sort of explanation!"

Pidge froze and crawled over to look down at Shinji, who was glaring up at them, fists clenched.

"My parents, my sister, had to find out Takashi was alive at the same time everyone else in the world did." Shinji said, calmly and coolly. "We all had to watch that video of him strapped to a table, covered in scars, and screaming about aliens."

"You hacked my computer when I grabbed the camera feed." Pidge said, accusingly. "I recognized your signature."

"Yeah, and when no one at Galaxy Garrison came up to me and was like 'oh, by the way, guess what? Turns out your brother is alive after all. Totally out of his mind, but hey we can fix that once we free him from these four crazy kids' the next day, I posted it to the entire internet." Shinji said.

"Then don't blame me for this!" Pidge snapped.

"No, I don't blame you for that. I blame you for abducting Takashi and then taking him right back into space right after he finally got back!" Shinji yelled. "Didn't even think to contact me or my family or anyone so that we could see him, could touch him, could hear his voice when he wasn't yelling about aliens and begging to be kept awake, to know he was actually alive and this all wasn't some sort of cruel joke. Because you just had to find your dad and brother, didn't you? You're so selfish. You didn't even think about Takashi, or his family. You just thought about you and your family."

"Shinji, you can yell at me, curse me, whatever you want to do, later. Right now, if I don't get Green fixed and running again, people are going to die. Or get hurt. Or captured. And Shiro is one of those people. So if you want to see him again, help me get to him." Pidge said. "Or go away. Either way, you're wasting my time!"

Shinji glared, but then grabbed the tools he had thrown to the ground.

"Tell me what to do." He said.

Pidge nodded.

After ten minutes of silence occasionally interrupted by terse exchanges of instructions and inquiries of clarification, the outside damage was repaired. Pidge grinned as Green purred beneath them.

"Whoa!" Shinji said, eyes wide. "Was that supposed to happen?"

"Glad to have you back, girl." Pidge said, ignoring Shinji as they patted Green's hull affectionately. "I thought I lost you. Now, ready to get back up there?"

Green gave another purr, mixed with a growl.

"Alright," Pidge said. "Come on, Shinji."

Pidge jumped down off of Green, Shinji following. Pidge ran up the ramp, hopping into the seat. However, nothing happened once they were at the controls. With a growl, Pidge wiggled out of the chair and underneath Green's consul, seeing instantly what the problem was. It also explained their sudden communication issues with the other Lions and the Castle. Fortunately, a much easier fix than the outside damage.

"Bring me that screwdriver!" They yelled.

"This thing is watching me!" Shinji said. "I think it's glaring…"

"Green doesn't like you because I don't like you. But don't let that intimidate you." Pidge responded. "Screwdriver, now."

"I am not getting anywhere near that thing!" Shinji said.

"GET IN THE ROBOT, SHINJI!" Pidge yelled in exasperation.

"You've been dying to say that, haven't you?" Shinji grumbled as he came up the ramp, passing the screwdriver to Pidge. He looked around. "So, is it a robot, a space-ship or what?"

"It's all that. And also magic." Pidge said, tightening the last piece. Green flashed to life with a roar.

"Whoa!" Shinji said, stumbling backwards as Pidge crawled out and into the seat, putting on the harness.

"Alright, Green, let's go!" Pidge said, putting on their helmet again. "Shinji, I suggest you find something to hold on to."

"Wait, what?" Shinji said, eyes wide.

But he was too late.

Pidge threw forward the thrusters and Green was in the air.

Within seconds, they were in space. As soon as Green left the atmosphere, Pidge heard Keith's voice, directing things.

"Lance, ice blast those hanger doors!"

"I'm on it!"

"Hunk, grab a fighter and use it like Black's jaw blade!"

"Got it!"

Pidge felt something grip their heart. Why wasn't Shiro directing the Paladins? What was wrong? A glance out the side showed the Black Lion blasting and firing, but for some reason it didn't feel like Shiro was controlling the Lion. Like Black had taken over, flying on autopilot, doing everything she could to protect her Paladin. What was wrong with Shiro?

"Paladins, we can't cover you much longer!" Allura cried out. "The Castle has taken too many hits!"

"Well, it's not like we can form—" Lance started to say.

"When I say Vol, you say Tron!" Pidge said, grinning as they did so, flying Green in view of all of their teammates.

"PIDGE!" Was the immediate, happy response from her teammates, followed by roars from the other four Lions, who were clearly happy to see the smallest Lion.

"Pidge, we thought you were dead!" Hunk exclaimed.

"We're so happy to see you, buddy!" Lance said.

"Oh, thank the stars!" Allura cried out.

"Katie…"

Shiro's voice, barely a whisper, more like an exhale.

"I'm here," Pidge said. "What's the damage?"

"Well, there's about to be a lot more of it." Keith said, sounding thoroughly relieved. "Unfortunately for the Galra and fortunately for us. Shiro?"

It took a moment and Pidge could imagine Shiro blinking rapidly, shaking his head some, like he always did once he came out of a bad flashback.

"Alright, team." Shiro said, his voice still shaky. "Let's form Voltron!"

Pidge pulled Green into position, relaxing in the feel of their bond with their Lion, with their teammates, pulling them all together.

"What is going on?" Shinji asked, pulling onto Pidge's chair to pull himself to his feet. His eyes widened as he saw the Galra ship. "What the heck, that thing is huge!"

"Thank you, captain obvious. Remember how I told you how to hold on to something? I was not talking about my chair." Pidge snapped, not looking at Shinji behind her.

"Uh, Pidge, you talking to us?" Lance asked.

"No. Let's just say, I may have picked up someone on Earth." Pidge said.

"A… friendly someone, I hope?" Hunk said.

"Depends on who you ask." Was Pidge's response.

"Shield, now!" Shiro yelled suddenly before anyone could ask them to elaborate.

Pidge brought up the shield, taking the blow, but without being on solid ground, Voltron was still pushed back.

"Aaah!" Shinji yelled, falling forward, grabbing hold of Pidge's shoulder.

"Get off of me!" Pidge yelled, instinctively bringing back their elbow, hitting Shinji somewhere in the face, sending him backwards. "Find something back there to hold onto, not me!"

"Shiro, sword or canon?" Keith asked.

"Start with the sword," Shiro said. "We'll bring out the shoulder canon after we get in a few hits on that main canon."

"On it." Keith said and they all heard the sound of his bayard fitting in to its slot at the consul.

"Pidge, incoming!" Hunk exclaimed.

Pidge quickly moved the shield to take the new shot.

"Lance, Hunk, give us a boost here!" Pidge said through gritted teeth. "We move any further back and we're going to crash to Earth!"

Pidge felt the rockets firing from beneath them, pushing them forward.

"Keith, have the sword ready," Shiro said. "Pidge, can you hold that shield just a bit longer?"

"I think so!" Pidge said.

"Good. Lance, Hunk, keep going, get us as close in as you can!" Shiro said.

"Got it, boss!" Lance said.

"Steady, steady…" Shiro said. "Keith, now!"

Pidge kept the shield steady as Keith swung the sword with a shout.

There was the distinct sound of metal colliding with metal, and suddenly Pidge had nothing to block. The laser disappeared.

"Shoulder canon!" Shiro commanded.

"I'm on it!" Hunk cried out. Pidge made the shield disappear in time to help hoist up the canon, which was fired on Shiro's order.

Within minutes, all of the ship's weapons were destroyed. Pidge watched as there were multiple explosions, but it didn't seem to bring any more damage to the ship itself. Before they could finish it off, the ship suddenly pulled away, turning back to the direction from whence it came. To their surprise, dozens of fighters came soaring past.

"They're retreating!" Pidge said. "All of those fighters, they have to be from Earth!"

"Woohoo! Another victory for Team Voltron!" Lance whooped. "That'll teach them to mess with our planet!"

"Yeah, but it seems they gave up their new colony a little too easy." Keith said, and Pidge could mentally imagine his scowl. "That's going to piss off Zarkon."

"They may have left drones, but not living Galra." Coran said. "Either way, we should get planet-side as soon as possible to evaluate the situation. The Castle is in bad need of repairs. And I do believe Pidge has some cargo that needs to be dropped."

"I can drop that cargo from here…" Pidge said, grinning wickedly at Shinji, who was clinging for dear life to the side of Green, looking a little ill. He gave her a wide-eyed, horrified look, shaking his head.

"Alright, Earth it is." Pidge said, tapping on the keys. "I'm sending you all coordinates for where we should land."

"Let's go, then." Lance said. "I can smell my _Abuelita_ 's empanadas already!"

They touched down to Earth as Voltron, the Castle right behind them. It wasn't until Blue and Yellow touched the ground that the Lions and their exhausted Paladins split apart, the Lions landing in formation.

Pidge tore out of the Green Lion, pushing past the still-dizzy Shinji in their haste to get out and to their teammates. They had barely touched the ground when suddenly they were swept up into one of Hunk's bone-crushing hugs, grinning and leaning into the hug.

"Pidge, you scared us so bad!" Hunk said, nuzzling his cheek against Pidge's hair.

"Sorry, guys!" Pidge said as Hunk put them back on the ground, where Pidge was immediately seized into a hug by Lance, who affectionately ruffled Pidge's hair.

"Don't ever scare us like that again, Pidgito!" Lance said, swaying with Pidge in his arms.

Pidge smiled at Lance's affectionate nickname, and was just as reluctant to leave his arms as they were to leave Hunk's. But that reluctance was gone when they turned to see Keith, grinning and holding his arms wide open for his hug. Pidge grinned and jumped into his arms, not wanting to waste the rare moment Keith offered any sort of physical affection.

"You did good, kid. We didn't stand a chance without you." Keith whispered into their ear.

"Yeah, well, of course, for Voltron." Pidge said, looking up at the Red Paladin.

"Voltron wasn't the reason I said that." Keith said, releasing Pidge from the hug and patting them on the shoulder, turning them around to face Shiro, who stood a few steps away, helmet dangling limply from his fingers, just staring silently at Pidge.

Pidge smiled at him, barely noticing that Keith's hand left their shoulder. Pidge opened their mouth to speak, but before they could, Shiro had crossed over, and they were wrapped up in his arms so fast all they could do was stand there, stunned.

Though muffled through his armor, Pidge could hear Shiro's heart thudding in his chest. His chest shook some as he held them tightly. Pidge felt a light sort of pressure against the top of their head and, to their surprise, wet droplets.

"You're okay…" Shiro whispered.

Pidge blinked and wrapped their arms around Shiro.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Pidge said softly. "You're okay. We're all okay…"

Shiro's grip on them loosened some as he pulled back to look down at them, reaching up to gently rub a smear of grime off of Pidge's cheekbone. It broke Pidge's heart to see Shiro's teary, but relieved eyes.

"I thought I lost you." Shiro said in a low voice. Pidge licked their lips and tried to hold back their own tears.

"Well, you haven't." Pidge said, trying to force a smile, even though all they wanted to do was cry against Shiro, in the embraces of their teammates, let out the fear that they had contained to handle the situation as quickly as possible. Pidge snaked their arm out to grab Shiro's human hand, squeezing it firmly. "And you're not going to lose me."

"Katie…" Shiro said, but whatever he was going to say next, he didn't, choosing instead to hug Pidge tightly to him again, his metallic hand in their hair while his flesh and blood hand was still wrapped in theirs.

Pidge wasn't sure how long they stayed in that embrace, but wished it had lasted longer.

"Okay, Shiro, stop hogging the Pidge!" Lance said. "Allura and Coran are growing impatient for their hugs."

Giving Shiro's hand a final squeeze and flashing a grin up at him, which Shiro weakly returned, Pidge went to be embraced by the two Alteans and the mice, who latter of whom immediately buried themselves in Pidge's hair.

It was at this point that Shiro noticed the person standing at the bottom of the Green Lion's ramp. He wasn't sure how long the boy had been standing there, but knew it must have been the person who helped Pidge repair Green.

The boy… looked vaguely familiar… Not enough to trigger a flashback or bring a name to mind. Had he seen the boy around the Garrison? He must have. He looked to be about that age.

That was when he noticed that the boy was watching him silently. Eyes a little wide, jaw a little slack, breathing a little heavy.

Remembering his first ride in a Lion without being the one to pilot, Shiro felt a little pity for the boy. Granted, he assumed that it was probably a much smoother ride with Pidge at the controls instead of Lance "I always crash the simulators" Sanchez-Garcia.

Shiro made the first move, crossing over to where the boy stood. As he got closer, the boy stood straighter, his mouth closing.

"Thank you." Shiro said. "For helping Pidge. I cannot express my gratitude for your actions."

The boy studied Shiro, glancing at Pidge briefly but then back at Shiro.

"You… You called her Katie?" The boy said, sounding almost confused.

"Sometimes." Shiro admitted. "But they prefer Pidge."

The boy said nothing, just stared at Shiro.

Shiro automatically stuck out his hand.

"I'm Shiro, by the way." He said, giving the boy a smile.

Behind him, there was dead silence, a silence that had been growing when Keith had looked to see where Shiro was, then suddenly grabbing Lance's arm with wide-eyes when he saw not only where he was, but who he was talking to.

"Is… Is that…?" Allura whispered in a low voice.

The boy's features quickly seemed to contort with anger.

"Yeah." The boy said, voice flat. "I know who you are, Takashi."

"Oh?" Shiro said, a little taken aback at the boy's sudden anger, as well as mildly surprised that the boy knew his given name.

"Yeah." The boy said again, still no emotion in his voice. "My name, since I guess you've forgotten that, too, is Shinji."

Shinji's fists clenched into balls at his side as he watched the gears turn in Shiro's head, as he still wracked his brain to figure out who he was.

"I'm your brother." Shinji spat out before striding past Shiro, leaving him standing alone, dazed, confused, and more than a little upset with himself.

Shinji strode past the rest of the Paladins and the two Alteans, ignoring the angry glares he was getting from Keith and Lance, the horror on Hunk's face, the wide-eyed confusion and hurt on Shiro's behalf on the faces of Allura and Coran.

But he did meet Pidge's eyes.

And in one look, made it clear that he blamed them.

He stormed over the sand dune as the Galaxy Garrison vehicles arrived.

Pidge closed their eyes for a moment, then followed Hunk over to where Shiro stood, alone and quiet. Behind them, Lance was hissing curses in Spanish while Coran and Allura had to put their hands on Keith's shoulders to restrain him from following Shinji. Hunk put his hand on Shiro's shoulder while Pidge came up to his other side.

"Hey, man," Hunk said. "You—"

But Hunk cut himself off before he could ask the question.

Shiro was definitely not okay.

But he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning around to watch as a furious Commander Iverson emerged from an armored car.

"Time for the hard part of the job." Shiro mumbled, walking away from his two teammates in silence.

Hunk and Pidge only had time to exchange a worried glance before they hurried after him.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

"AND JUST WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Iverson yelled, gesturing wildly at the Lions—who growled and seemed to move as if ready to pounce in order to protect their Paladins—and the Castle.

Shiro, ever the peacemaker, took a deep breath and said,

"Commander, if you'll let us explain…"

"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH, SHIROGANE!" Iverson yelled.

"Don't yell at Shiro!" Keith snarled, putting himself between Iverson and Shiro.

"YOU'RE OUT OF LINE, CADET!" Iverson roared at Keith.

"I'M NOT A CADET ANYMORE BECAUSE APPARENTLY YOU'RE SO STUPID YOU'VE FORGOTTEN THAT YOU PERSONALLY THREW ME OUT OF THE GARRISON! LITERALLY THREW ME OVER THE PROPERTY LINE!" Keith shouted back.

"Keith, Keith, buddy…" Lance said hurriedly, eyes wide, grabbing at Keith's arm, pulling him away from Iverson. "You need to chill out a little. You're getting a little, uh, hot under the collar."

Keith clenched his jaw shut and instinctively brought a hand to his neck, where only his teammates had noticed the purple splotches that were slowly starting to spread across the exposed skin on the back of his neck. They just hoped that everyone else thought that the weird purplish tint in Keith's hair was a result of the setting sun.

"I WANT YOU KNUCKLEHEADS TO EXPLAIN THOSE ROBOT LIONS, THAT SHIP, THESE ALIENS AND TELL ME EXACTLY WHERE THAT LARGE ROBOT MAN WENT!" Iverson yelled.

"Shiro was trying to tell you all that before you told him to 'shut his mouth'." Pidge pointed out. Iverson gave them a glare and opened his mouth to yell some more, but before he could do so, another car arrived, a red Jeep that was clearly not Garrison property.

"Ha!" Said the passenger of the Jeep as the car braked, a hot-pink smartphone in hand. The girl's eyes gleamed as she scrambled out of her seatbelt. "I told you it was a good thing we continued in the same direction after the Green one took off!"

"What I want to know is how these idiots beat us here." The driver said, coming around to the other side of the vehicle, her dreadlocks bobbing lightly in the ponytail she had them tied back in.

The other girl didn't seem to be listening to the driver, because she released a happy squeal and rushing forward, shoving past three of the Garrison officials to get to the Paladins.

Or, more specifically, a grinning Hunk.

"Lani!" He exclaimed, wrapping her into a hug, her arms around his neck.

"Oh my gosh, Hunk!" Lani said with a laugh, kissing his cheek. "I've missed you so much! We all have! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"GET OUT OF HERE, WRIGHT!" Iverson yelled at the driver, who folded her arms over her chest defiantly.

"You can't tell me what to do anymore, Commander. That's what happens when you keep kicking people out of Galaxy Garrison, you know. They don't listen to you." Tali said bitterly.

"Oh my gosh!" Lani squealed again, eyes going wide when she saw the Lions, quickly turning her phone to get shots of all of them. "Oh my gosh! I can't believe it! The Blue Lion! And, yes, folks, you're really seeing this: there's five total! Blue, Red, Black, Green and Yellow!"

"And together they form Voltron, the most powerful weapon in the entire universe." Hunk said proudly with a grin as Lani turned the phone to him. "But each of the Lions is a pretty powerful weapon on their own. We're their Paladins, the ones who pilot the Lions. Lance flies Blue and I fly Yellow, and we form the legs, Keith is Red's pilot and Pidge is Green's and they're the arms, and Shiro, as our leader, flies Black and makes the head of Voltron."

"Wait," Iverson said, stopping his glaring match with Tali to turn to Lani and pointed at her cellphone. "Is that recording?"

"Oh, no, it's streaming." Lani said with a grin. "Dude, this is the second great thing that's happened so far because of those purple alien guys."

"What was the first?" Pidge asked.

"Oh, just that our subscription and viewer numbers on Voltron Watch quintupled overnight!" Lani said brightly. "So there's currently a couple million, if not billion, people watching this livestream!"

"What!" Iverson yelled. "Turn that off right this instant!"

"Are you two aliens, too?" Lani asked Allura and Coran, totally ignoring Iverson.

"I am Princess Allura, of the planet Altea." Allura said, suddenly all beauty and grace and poise. "And this is my advisor, Coran. Thousands of years ago, it was the Alteans who—"

"I SAID TURN THAT THING OFF NOW!" Iverson yelled at Lani.

"Um, sir?" Said one of the Garrison troopers as he came up to Iverson.

"It's a free country!" Lani snapped, hand on her hip as she whirled around to face Iverson.

"What exactly are you afraid of, Commander?" Tali asked, coming around to wrap her arm around Lani's shoulder.

"Commander Iverson?" The trooper said.

"Look here, Wright, I am the one in charge here. Unless you want to be—" Iverson started.

"Sir!" The trooper said, voice a little louder, more urgent.

"WHAT?" Iverson yelled. The trooper cringed but then whispered something to Iverson, who paled.

"But, how?" Iverson asked the trooper. "We haven't had time to alert the nearest military base yet. Haven't even set up our communications or—"

"Miss Wright and Miss Kahele, may I please ask you to end your livestream at this moment? I personally guarantee that any further news regarding this issue will be reported first on your blog."

The voice was a little distant and tinny, and that was when everyone looked behind Iverson to see another Trooper holding a laptop, eyes wide.

Iverson immediately stood up straighter and saluted.

"Mr. President." He said, addressing the man on the screen, who nodded.

Lani's own eyes were wide as she fumbled to turn off the stream as Tali pulled herself up straighter, arms falling to her sides as she stared straight ahead.

The Paladins weren't sure how to respond to the new situation, or indicate for their Altean friends to respond. Shiro automatically and unconsciously pulled himself into an attention position, while Hunk, Pidge and Lance just stood a little straighter. Keith didn't move, keeping his arms crossed over his chest and glowered.

"Do we salute? I feel like we need to be saluting." Hunk asked in a whisper to Lance and Pidge, who both shrugged.

"At ease." The President of the United States said. But only Tali, Shiro and Iverson—who were at attention—followed the order. "First, I want to extend thanks to the Paladins of Voltron, and the Princess of Altea and her most esteemed advisor, on behalf of the United States of America, as well as the world. I have already received footage captured by the cameras on the International Space Station of your battle, as well as reports from around the world of the sudden departure of the Galra. Many of the bases have been able to be reclaimed from the remaining robotic soldiers and others are in the process of providing back-up to those who are still struggling. We were very fortunate that you arrived when you did."

"We are just glad we got here in time, before they could cause too much damage." Shiro said. "We've seen first-hand what the Galra have done to other planets. Earth is very fortunate that their colonization attempts were stopped before they began."

"Then our gratitude is ten-fold." The President said with a slight bow of his head. "But I also need to bring forth our second area of business. Commander Iverson, you and the chain of command at Galaxy Garrison are hereby relieved of duty until further notice."

Iverson's eyes widened and he seemed to be grasping for words, then he said at last,

"Yes, sir, Mr. President, sir."

"Takashi Shirogane." The President said. "Until further notice, you are in command of all Garrison personnel as well as all members of the United States Armed Forces. You are free to direct your Lions and the Alteans' ship to whatever destination you decide. Once you make your decision, I will arrange for security to that area as well as begin finding a secure location for a conference between yourself, your Paladins, the Alteans, myself and the heads of the United States Military, as well as other foreign leaders."

The other four Paladins looked to Shiro, who blinked a bit in stunned silence.

"Thank you, sir." Shiro finally got out. "I will need to confer with my Paladins, the Princess and her Advisor before making any decisions about where to move the Lions and Castle to."

"Of course." The President said. "I need to attend to messages from other world leaders, but call me as soon as you make your decision."

With that, the screen went dark.

And all eyes were on Shiro.

"Dude." Lance said, eyes wide. "You're now pretty much the most powerful person in the whole country! Maybe even the world!"

"Am I even a United States citizen?" Shiro asked, looking around at the other Paladins for an answer.

"Nope." Pidge said with a grin. "But I don't think that sort of thing matters when your planet gets invaded by purple furries and then saved by a giant robot man."

"Where to now?" Hunk asked.

"I'm not even really sure where we are, to be honest." Shiro confessed.

"Keith's place is right over that hill." Pidge said, jerking their thumb over their shoulder. "This is where Green and I crash-landed. Lucky, too. By the way, Keith, I borrowed some of your tools and parts. Hope you don't mind."

"Pidge, I would have given you everything I own to get you back into space." Keith said, ruffling Pidge's hair.

"Think there's anything in Keith's conspiracy theorist hobo shack that's still edible?" Hunk asked. "'Cause right now I'll go for anything that's not food goo."

"Yeah, because a Cup of Noodles with a side of stale Oreos and expired Sriracha sauce is exactly what we all want as our first finally-back-on-earth meal." Lance said dryly.

"It's what we fed Shiro." Pidge pointed out. "Seems only fair."

"Uh, no. We need to do much better than that. We've all spent the last six months knowing we'd sell each other out for a chocolate bar first chance we got, would feel no guilt whatsoever for doing so, and no one would blame us in the slightest for it." Lance said. "We've held out this long, but I don't know for how much longer."

"And we need to feed Allura and Coran the best of the best Earth food to prove that it is superior to food goo." Hunk added, pounding a fist into the palm of his hand determinately.

"And I'm pretty sure you all cleared out my pantry the last time you were there." Keith said, arms folded over his chest. "It's not like I've had a chance to go grocery shopping lately, you know."

"Let's worry about food later." Shiro said. "Right now, we need to focus on getting the Lions and the Castle to a secure location. Allura, Coran, will the Castle be able to make a short trip?"

"Yes." Allura said. "But I do believe we will need to find parts to repair the Castle."

"Not the Garrison." Keith said in a low voice, eyeing over at the very confused troops who were waiting Shiro's orders. Some of the more senior officers almost seemed to be sizing all of them up and glaring bitterly. "That'd put us directly into a nest of vipers."

"Agreed." Pidge said.

"But where, then?" Shiro asked. "I don't want to go to another military base."

"Hey, uh, sorry, we were totally eavesdropping on this conversation." Lani said, suddenly appearing behind Hunk and Lance, scaring the latter. "But, anyways, you'll probably want to be close to an airport and lots of hotels if the President is bringing in foreign dignitaries. And, you know what's nearby? Henderson, which just so happens to be the closest city to the nearest international airport."

"Henderson?" Pidge repeated, blinking as thoughts of their hometown came to mind. "Wait, were you two in Henderson? Like recently?"

"I've been in Henderson for the last week with your mom. Lani got in right before the Galra arrived." Tali said to Pidge, before looking at Hunk, Lance and Shiro. "Mrs. Holt invited all your families to Henderson, actually, before the whole alien invasion thing happened. It was supposed to be this kind of this support-group, hey-we-have-something-in-common-someone-we-love-disappeared-into-space-probably thing."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Hunk said sheepishly. "It wasn't intentional, really."

"Then Henderson it is." Shiro said with a faint smile, but the Paladins saw that his smile didn't quite meet his eyes. "I'll go tell Iverson."

Shiro seemed to rush away, and no one was sure why until Shinji sauntered back up. The four Paladins, Allura and Coran regarded him coldly, but Lani and Tali did not.

"Oh, you're Shinji, aren't you?" Lani said with a big grin. "I'm Lani. We haven't met, but I've met your mom and dad and sister and I've seen your pictures before…"

"What are you doing out here?" Tali demanded with a frown. "How did you escape the Garrison lockdown when the Galra arrived?"

"I snuck out the night before. Apparently anyone with a few brain cells can figure out how to do it without getting caught." Shinji said, returning Tali's frown. "How did you two get out here?"

"We followed the trajectory of the giant crashing Lion, then continued in the same direction after it took off again to be pleasantly surprised when a giant robot man landed in the same place a while later." Tali explained. She then decided to turn her attention elsewhere, narrowing her eyes at Keith, who gulped.

"Kwan." She said in a warning tone.

"Hi, Tali." Keith said, trying to give her a grin while slowly backing up. "Long time no see…"

"LONG TIME NO SEE? LONG TIME NO SEE? IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY TO ME, YOU LITTLE BRAT?" Tali yelled suddenly. Keith immediately turned and tried to run towards the Lions, but didn't get far, Tali leaping upon him and putting him in a headlock, digging her fist into the top of his head.

"What's this about a hobo shack, huh?" Tali demanded as Keith tried to fight her off.

"Red! Help me out here!" Keith yelled as he tried to wriggle out of Tali's grasp. To his frustration, the only thing that he got from Red was the Lions' equivalent of a laugh and told him through their bond that she knew he wasn't in any real danger.

Plus, apparently she had decided she liked Tali.

"What the heck were you thinking? I told you to come to me if you ever left the Garrison and what do you do? You run off to live in the middle of nowhere?" Tali yelled at Keith.

"It's… a… long… story!" Keith grunted out, finally freeing himself from her grasp. "And I'm sorry!"

"Sorry's not going to cut it!" Tali snapped. "Now show me this shack so I can decide if I need to be even angrier with you!"

Before Keith got a say in anything, Tali was dragging him by the collar of his armor over the hill.

"I'll go protect the conspiracy theorist nut-job." Lance said, gesturing with a thumb to Keith and Tali before running after them.

"I like her." Allura declared with a smile.

"Tali's the best." Pidge said in agreement. She looked at Lani. "Hi. I'm Pidge. Nice to meet you. Hunk's told us quite a bit about you."

"It's nice to finally meet you, too!" Lani said with a huge grin.

"How did you and Tali meet and start the blog?" Pidge asked.

"The gift of social media, actually." Lani explained. "After you all disappeared, Tali started messaging each other while looking for… well, I'm not sure closure is the right word, but someone to talk to and try and figure out what was going on after the video of you all rescuing Shiro and the one with the Blue Lion went viral. We both wanted to find out what was going on and started a joint investigation. We actually have some help from Kalea and Luana, and a couple of Lance's family members, mostly in running the site and updating news, but they aren't in our videos or anything because they already get so much media focus right now."

"Well, then it's you all—and Hunk—who really saved the day." Pidge said. "Hunk for working on finding a way for us to get onto Earth's internet while in space and a couple galaxies away, and your blog for letting us know what was going on."

Lani beamed.

"I'm just glad you found it." Lani said. "That was what we really hoped for. That somehow, somewhere, the right people would find our blog. We're just glad you all finally came home!"

Pidge bit their lip and glanced at Hunk, then at Allura and Coran.

"What's wrong?" Lani asked, turning to look up at Hunk.

"We came home… but we can't stay." Hunk explained. "We have to take down Emperor Zarkon, and free all the planets he's enslaved. And Voltron's the only thing that will be able to do that. And we have to find Pidge's dad and brother, too."

"So, they're alive?" Tali asked as she came up to the group again, eyes focused on Pidge. "Your Dad and Matt… They're alive?"

"When Dad, Matt and Shiro were first captured by the Galra, they were initially held on the same ship, then split up shortly after; Dad was sent to a labor colony, and Matt was sent to one a few weeks later, and the data I've gathered shows that it's the same one Dad's at. We don't know where they are, but we're going to find them." Pidge explained.

"What happened to Takashi then?" Shinji asked, reminding the group of his presence as he watched his brother directing people and listening patiently to annoyed Garrison officials.

"We have very little confirmed information." Allura said. "Shiro remembers so little of that time."

"Yeah." Shinji said bitterly as Shiro started to walk towards them again. "I figured that part out on my own."

Nothing further was said as Shiro approached.

"What're our orders, Shiro?" Pidge asked.

"We'll leave in fifteen to twenty minutes. I've got the coordinates for the airport. We just have to wait for them to clear the airfield." Shiro explained. "Where's Keith and Lance?"

"I made Keith show me that stupid shack of his. I'm still angry with him." Tali declared, arms folded over her chest. "But he's gathering up his stuff there and he and Lance said they'd be back in about ten."

"How much of that time do you want to bet is turning 'conspiracy theory shack' into a 'love shack'?" Pidge asked Hunk in an undertone with a small smirk, making Hunk snort and Shiro shoot them both a look, making them both sober up and look innocent. The corner of Shiro's mouth curved at their attempts.

"Alright, we need to get to work." Shiro said. "Coran, can we start an inventory of what the Castle will need for repairs? That way the mechanics at the airfield can start bringing in parts to see if they are compatible."

"That shouldn't be a problem." Coran said with a nod.

"And Pidge, do the same with the Green Lion." Shiro said, and Pidge nodded.

"Hunk, can you check the rest of the Lions for any damage? I know the other Lions took just about as many hits as Green did." Shiro said.

"Yeah, sure." Hunk said. He turned to Lani. "Wanna meet the Lions up close and personal?"

"Um, yes!" Lani exclaimed with a squeal.

"Oh man, you're going to love Yellow! She's such as sweetie!" Hunk said. Then he turned to Shiro, employing the use of puppy-dog eyes. "Can Lani ride in Yellow with me to the airport?"

"I don't see why not…" Shiro said, resulting in a lot more squealing from Lani and an even bigger grin from Hunk, who dragged her off to meet the Lions.

"She missed him a great deal." Tali told Shiro as they began to divide and conquer, Shinji deciding to make himself useful and gather up the discarded tools and parts that he and Pidge had left scattered. "It was part of how we clicked so well together. We were going through the same thing, missing our best friends…"

"And the man you love." Shiro added, making Tali freeze and turn to him. He studied her. "Tali… Look, I can't remember much right now. I could barely remember your name and face and all the time we spent together until just a while ago, still don't remember everything. But I remember how much you love Matt. And how much he loves you."

"I regret it, you know." Tali said in a low voice, staring down at the sand at her feet, kicking at a rock. "Not telling him before he left. I didn't want to deal with rejection and then awkwardness when you all got back. But at the same time I didn't want my feelings to be reciprocated and then deal with a long-distance relationship that stretched to the end of the solar system. So I thought it'd be best to wait. Till he got back."

"Matt said the same thing. Agonized over it." Shiro said. "Even when we were traveling to Kerberos, he was still regretting that there wasn't a good option, a good choice to make. And… he regretted it even more when we were captured by the Galra. Wished he had had more courage to just be honest with you."

Tali looked up and put her hand on Shiro's shoulder.

"In a short amount of time, I thought I had lost just about everyone I cared about." Tali said. "My grandfather, my best friend, the guy I had been crushing on for five years… And then Keith runs off into the middle of nowhere without so much as sending me a message to tell me he's alive and not dead in a ditch somewhere. And then, for a few brief moments, I had my best friend alive again. And then I had hope."

"And now?" Shiro asked.

"Now… Now I have to do more than just sit around and hope." Tali said, her eyes hard. "I've got to fight for what I love, for who I love."

"You've always taken matters into your own hands." Shiro commented.

"All except matters of the heart." Tali said. "And that is a mistake I won't make again."

"Hey, Keith… I need you to not freak out or maul me with Red." Lance said suddenly.

"Oh, that's not a scary sentence to hear at all." Keith said, looking up he pulled a t-shirt out of his trunk, stuffing it into his duffel.

He was happy to find that his shack was mostly untouched, his research findings still pinned to the wall and his things where he had left them. The passcode-protected trunk had been helpful in that regard, especially since it was where he kept the most precious thing he owned, what he valued more than the knife that he carried—which was something his mother had always told him was a gift from the father he never knew—and even his beloved red jacket.

He pulled out the tablet computer and its charging cord from where he had carefully wrapped it in towels. All of his mother's research was supposedly on it.

And… he hoped there was something about his father on it. Now, more than ever, did he hope for that. He had always wondered about his nameless, faceless father. But now that he knew that his father was a Galra… now he had a lot more questions.

The problem was, he didn't know what the tablet did or did not contain. He had never gotten beyond the password screen.

But now he wondered if maybe Pidge or Hunk or anyone else could help him figure out the six-digit passcode.

He carefully rewrapped the tablet and put it in the duffle, cushioning it between the clothes before he looked up at Lance, who was nervously bobbing from foot to foot.

"Lance, I'm not going to freak out. I mean, I'm pretty sure the only thing that is freak-out worthy between the two of us is the whole half-Galra thing and you handled that way better than I did." Keith said, sitting back on his heels.

"You're going to be mad at me and hate me." Lance insisted.

"I'm not." Keith said with a sigh of frustration. "Now just spit it out already, will you?"

Lance took a deep breath and blurted out,

"I don't want to introduce you as my boyfriend to my family."

There was a long silent pause. Lance bit his lip as he watched Keith, who just blinked a few times.

"See! You're mad! You're going to kill me!" Lance moaned. "At least let me have a minute to say good-bye to Blue, to thank her for putting up with me and for being the best magic robot Lion a guy could ever have?"

"What, no, I'm not going to kill you." Keith said, shaking his head some to clear it. "It was just… I didn't realize we were boyfriends. I mean, we've been dating the last month or so, but I didn't know if you actually wanted to be boyfriends…"

"And, uh, a lack of clarification over whether or not we're 'going steady' is one of the reasons I didn't want to do that…" Lance admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of my head.

"What are the other reasons?" Keith asked, returning to his packing. Lance was quiet for a moment, then Keith said, "I'm not mad, I just want to know why you don't want to introduce me to your family."

"I do want to introduce you." Lance argued. "Just… as a teammate first. See, the thing is… I haven't come out to them yet. As bi."

"Really?" Keith said, looking up again. That was a surprise.

"Yeah." Lance said. "I… I've pretty much told all of my friends before I've even mentioned it to my parents or any of my siblings or anyone I have any relation to. But that's not the only reason why I don't want to announce to them that we're dating. I have some reasons that are for them, and then some that are for you."

"For me?" Keith said, blinking again. "What do you mean?"

"I know how you get around new people, especially big crowds of new people." Lance said. "And I've seen my family swarm a new boyfriend or girlfriend and give them the third degree… The little kids especially."

Keith chewed the inside of his lip, but didn't say anything. He knew Lance loved kids. But Keith… The most exposure he had to little kids was in foster care and group homes, a time in his life he tried so hard to forget. Very few of those kids understood the concepts of personal space, and there was always someone crying or screaming. And Keith had resented the really little kids who got adopted much easier, who stayed in one home much longer. They were much easier at the whole people-pleasing thing. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do the same and eventually stopped trying. Even now that he was a bit older, he felt awkward around kids and tried to stay away as much as possible.

Lance had already mentioned on more than one occasion that he'd love to be a dad someday with lots of kids. Whether biologically his or adopted, he didn't care. And Keith knew Lance had a heart big enough to do it, and that he would be an amazing father someday. But it was the one area Keith knew that, if there was any chance of a future between him and Lance, there was going to be some discrepancy.

But, even without all the little kids, Lance was right; Keith did not do well with crowds, especially crowds of new people. And that Lance was thinking of that was really nice and considerate.

"It's overwhelming if you're not prepared for it." Lance said, which Keith thought summarized everything perfectly. "Well, it can also be overwhelming if you are prepared for it… But anyways, that's why I thought it would be better for you to get used to them as just my friend, and vice-versa. And the reasons for my family is, well, I don't want to drop all these bombshells on them all at the same time. It's bad enough that I'm basically coming back and saying 'Hey, I've spent the last six months fighting an evil warlord in a giant magic, robot alien Lion and not actually dead but have come close a few times'. I don't want to drop the 'I'm bi' and 'Here's my boyfriend' bombshells all at the same time. And since I already know my mom's going to flip when I tell her 'yeah, I need to go back into space and fight said crazy alien warlord', I'd like to give her as few shocks as possible."

"No, no that's, that's fine." Keith said. "I get it. I do, really. I'm not mad. It's pretty logical, all things considered."

"You're not just saying that to make me feel better about this?" Lance asked, still looking nervous. "Or are you lulling me into a false sense of security so that you can murder me in my sleep?"

"Well," Keith said as he zipped up his duffle, standing up with a grin. "If I murdered you, I'd have to go through the process of finding a new boyfriend. You know how hard those are to come by in space?"

Lance slowly grinned, his shoulders relaxing, and he strode over to wrap his arms around Keith's waist, giving him a small kiss on the cheek.

"You are the best, you know." Lance mumbled into Keith's ear, giving it a gentle nip, enjoying as he watched the blush spread out on Keith's cheeks.

"So you finally admit it." Keith returned as he half-heartedly elbowed Lance in the side, which made Lance snort softly. "Come on, let's go get our marching orders."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

Pidge finished up the inventory of Green's remaining mechanical issues, then gave the mechanical Lion a pat on the consul and a few words of praise, promising that they needed just one more flight before Green could return to her hanger and rest the way she deserved.

Then they went to find Shiro.

Pidge didn't have to go far. Although initially looking for Shiro's tall, muscular figure in black and white amongst the scurry that was the Garrison deconstructing the base camp they had nearly finished constructing, it was the Black Lion that told Pidge that they wouldn't find him amongst the crowd.

The Black Lion was lying in the sand, whereas her 'cubs' were sitting or—in the case of Red, who was making herself look very big and intimidating to the tiny humans—standing. Black would have made a very intimidating Sphynx, almost like the one in Egypt. Except, Black had her head lowered to her paws, yellow eyes scanning watchfully. Protectively.

Pidge paused and turned their head, studying Black, whose eyes were now trained on them. The hardness in her gaze dissipated at seeing the smallest Paladin, and Pidge felt the rumble of Black's mighty purr beneath their feet. Without a second's hesitation, Pidge walked up so that they stood in front of Black, gently putting a hand on Black's nose, the intensity of the purr growing and Black gently nosed Pidge's chest.

"It's good to see you, too." Pidge said with a smile. "I'm sorry Green and I scared you during the battle."

Black's head tilted, eyes going towards the Green Lion.

"Green's okay. She needs rest." Pidge said, petting Black's nose reassuringly. "We all do. I was wondering if you'd let me talk to Shiro, though."

Pidge expected Black to open her mouth, to find Shiro somewhere in Black's cockpit. But instead, Black lifted her head some so that Pidge could see Shiro tucked between her paws, leaning against her chest, his head down and against his knees, his helmet at his feet. Pidge took that as an invitation, and crawled over Black's paws to go sit beside Shiro.

"Hey," Pidge said gently. "Are you okay, Shiro?"

Shiro was quiet before lifting his head to look at Pidge.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Shiro said. "I just… I needed a moment of quiet."

"There's not much of that around here at the moment." Pidge pointed out. "Iverson's still barking orders in your absence."

"I heard." Shiro said. "He and I have reached… an agreement of sorts. For now."

Pidge nodded and they were quiet. Shiro rested his forehead against his knees again.

"Are you excited to see your mom?" Shiro asked quietly.

"I'm… Yes, I am. But at the same time, I'm kind of nervous. And angry." Pidge admitted. "I… This wasn't how I planned to see her again. I planned on having Matt and Dad with me. That when I saw her again, we'd be a whole family again."

Shiro nodded some, still with his head against his knees.

"And you?" Pidge asked.

"I don't know." Shiro admitted in a whisper. "Pidge, I'm not… I'm not the son they said good-bye to. Not the brother. Not the person I was. I've changed. Physically. Mentally. I've been changed."

Pidge watched as Shiro's gaze fell to his right arm.

"And I hardly remember anything about them. I told you, I barely remember any Japanese. I've killed people since the last time they saw me. I've been declared dead for a year. I…" Shiro took a deep breath. "I'm scared of what they'll think of me."

"Shiro…" Pidge whispered. "Shiro, your family loves you. They won't be scared. They'll be happy, that you're alive and they won't care that you have amnesia and a metal arm and a few more scars than you did before. They love you and they don't need you to be able to speak a certain language or remember stories for them to love you."

Shiro was quiet and didn't move, still staring at his arm. Pidge gently reached up and put their hand on Shiro's back, pulling him into a hug.

"Your sister's name is Mitsu." Pidge whispered, their head against his shoulder. "She's twelve, and you told me that her name means 'light'. You and Shinji call her 'Mitsy'. She adores you and Shinji, and before you left, you two made a bet as to which would happen first: she gets her next belt level in karate, or you get back from Kerberos. You usually call your parents Mom and Dad if they're not present, you're just talking about them. I think I've heard you call them 'oka-san' and 'oto-san' like once and it was really formal and stuff, because otherwise I've only heard you call your mom 'Haha' and your dad 'Chichi'."

Shiro was still very quiet and Pidge paused to take a breath, then said,

"And… I'm sorry about Shinji. He… He was really upset after Kerberos and… I think, well, I know he's really angry and confused and he doesn't quite know what to do about it or really how to feel with everything that has happened. He's grieved and been grieving, and now he's not sure what he's supposed to do. But he loves you very much. Really, he does. Like I said, he's angry right now, but he'll get over it. And it's not you he's angry at. It's just everything that has happened."

Shiro finally turned to Pidge with a small smile.

"Thank you, Pidge." He whispered, pulling them closer to his side.

Pidge held onto the arm Shiro had wrapped around them, but also grabbed hold of his other, metal hand. As they grabbed that hand, Shiro tensed, but then relaxed as Pidge ran their fingers over the seams of the metal panels. Pidge wasn't sure why this seemed to relax Shiro, but they weren't going to stop.

"Hey, Shiro?" Pidge said quietly. "Would you… Would you like it if I spoke to your parents and sister first? To let them know about your amnesia and ask them to not bombard you with questions and that sort of thing? I'd only tell them whatever you want them to know."

Pidge glanced up to see Shiro bite his lip, debating, then, so quickly as if he was afraid he'd stop himself, he said,

"Yes. Yes please."

Pidge nodded and resumed the tracing.

"So. What should I cover?"

"Anything but what my arm does, and whatever I did to earn the name 'Champion'." Shiro said, the title spat out bitterly.

"I can do that." Pidge promised.

The two didn't get to sit for much longer, hearing Allura's voice calling out for Shiro.

"Time to move out, I guess." Pidge said, but Shiro didn't move.

"Life seems a lot easier just sitting right here." He said, pulling Pidge back when they tried to move.

"Yeah, I agree." Pidge said. They gently squeezed his arm as they looked up at him. "But if everything was easy, it would be kind of dull, wouldn't it?"

"I like dull." Shiro said, reluctantly letting Pidge out of his grip, Black moving in response to the two Paladins movement, allowing them to stand. "When this is all over, I want the dullest life ever. I want the most exciting thing in my life to be… I don't know, getting a double-coupon deal at the grocery store."

"Watching paint dry." Pidge said with a grin. "On a lawn chair."

"Hmm, I think it would depend on the color to be exciting or not." Shiro said, wrapping an arm around Pidge's shoulders.

"Firetruck red?" Pidge suggested as they walked out from between Black's paws.

"Hmm, maybe. Or how about black? That's edgy."

"Bright pink with glitter."

"Whoa, hold on there, let's not get too crazy. Next thing you know, you'll be wanting to have tacos on meatloaf night."

Pidge couldn't hold back the laughter at that, and was glad to see Shiro laughing as well.

"Ah, there you two are." Allura said as she saw Pidge and Shiro approach the group composed of the Princess, Coran, the other Paladins, Lani, Tali and Shinji.

"Iverson's looking for you, Shiro." Tali said. "So that we can move out."

"Are you going to drive back, Tali?" Shiro asked.

"Nah, I've got a Garrison cadet driving the Jeep back to the rental place." Tali said. She grinned. "I'm going in style."

"Tali has graciously offered to act as a guide for Coran and I, so that you all may spend time with your families while we are on Earth." Allura explained. "So we have offered to transport her in the Castle."

"We want you both to meet our families, though." Pidge said.

"Yeah," Lance said with a grin. "The little kids are going to flip out when I tell them you're a real princess with a real castle."

"And we do look forward to meeting them." Allura said.

"Then let's stop hanging around here and get moving!" Hunk said with a grin.

"Tali, I'm going to ride in one of the Lions!" Lani said excitedly.

"For the record, I do not recommend it." Shinji grumbled, folding his arms over his chest moodily.

"Funny you say that," Pidge said with a sudden, evil grin. "Because you're riding with me in Green."

Shinji's eyes widened.

"Nope, never again am I getting anywhere near that thing…" He said.

"Don't be a baby." Pidge said. "I promise not to leave the atmosphere this time."

Shinji did not look reassured in the slightest.

"Alright then, let's move out." Shiro said.

The other four Paladins nodded and rushed to their Lions, Pidge dragging an unwilling Shinji behind them while Lani—in her excitement—beat Hunk to the feet of Yellow.

Shinji seemed to relax when he realized that this ride was, in fact, going to be much smoother than his first one as Green lifted off, easily falling into place between Black and Yellow.

"Why did you offer to take me?" Shinji asked suspiciously.

"Because," Pidge said after making sure that their microphone was off. "I told Shiro I'd do him a favor, and it involves you."

"Oh?" Shinji said, and Pidge was pleased to see him shift uncomfortably.

"Yeah. You'll see." Pidge said, knowing full well that it probably was not nice to torment the boy, but at the same time thoroughly enjoyed it.

Soaring over the airport and towards the designated landing area for Team Voltron, Pidge saw the collection of military vehicles and soldiers, guarding the perimeters. But Pidge also noticed that there was a large group of people waiting on the tarmac. Pidge's first thought was "reporters". But, then, using Green's keener eyes, saw a familiar face in the crowd.

Their mother.

Pidge smiled, realizing that all of these people were there for the Paladins. It was their families. They could see three women—one about their own age—who they could immediately tell were related to Hunk. Most of the crowd, they knew, was there for Lance. They even saw, towards the front of this group, Shiro's parents and Mitsu, the young girl between her parents, their hands on her shoulders as the Lions and the Castle flew overhead.

They suddenly felt a tug of guilt.

In all the excitement, they had forgotten that there was no one there for Keith. His mother was dead, all they knew about his father was that he was Galra, and they all knew that Keith had spent more than half his life in the foster care system.

The only reassuring thought was that Lance would take care of Keith. Would proudly show him off to his family members and confuse him by having five different conversations in Spanish. Given how they were lately, Keith would probably stayed glued to Lance's side for most of the night.

But for now, they took a deep breath.

They had a mission.

And they sorely needed a hug from their mother.

They waited as the Castle landed, and the Lions returned to their hangers for some well-deserved rest. Pidge led Shinji through the maze of hallways that made up the Castle, going to the door where there was a ramp already lowered. Pidge smiled as they heard a lot of rapid, yelled Spanish from a bit away from the Castle, not surprised at all that Lance would try to be the first down. Hunk, they saw, wasn't too far behind Lance, and Lani behind Hunk.

Pidge saw their mother as soon as their feet were on the ground again, grinning and running into her arms.

"I've missed you, baby." Her mother breathed, holding Pidge tightly to her and kissing the top of their messy hair.

"I've missed you, too, Mom." Pidge said. Reluctantly, they pulled back some, looking up at their Mother. They wondered briefly if her eyes had always looked that lined, if those gray hairs had always been there. "Mom, I know you have a lot of questions, and I have so much I want to tell you, but first I really need to talk the Shiroganes."

Mrs. Holt looked confused, but nodded, keeping an arm around Pidge's shoulders.

"Alright." She said.

"You can come too," Pidge added quickly, though they knew it was mostly selfish, not wanting to be away from their mother. "I just… Well, it'll make sense in a moment."

Mrs. Holt nodded and went over to the Shiroganes, where Shinji was being hugged by his mother and the four assembled family members were speaking in Japanese until Dr. Shirogane saw the Holts.

"Hello, Katie." Dr. Shirogane said in his slow, accented English. "Or do you prefer Pidge?"

"Pidge is fine." Pidge said.

"Shinji said you flew one of those Lions!" Mitsu said excitedly.

"I'm the Green Lion's Paladin, yes." Pidge said. They took a deep breath, then said, "And Takashi is the pilot of the Black Lion."

Mrs. Shirogane asked something in Japanese, but Pidge only caught one word: "Takashi"

"He'll be out in a few minutes," Pidge promised. "But, he's… Well, he's kind of nervous. I guess that's the best word for it."

And so that was how Pidge started to do one of the things Pidge did best: ramble. Pidge explained about the amnesia, the PTSD, expressed doubt that he would have a flashback while on Earth but if he did they didn't think it'd be one of the more unpleasant memories of being held captive, and that he didn't remember much Japanese at that moment.

Both of Shiro's parents looked stricken. Mitsu looked sad and thoughtful. Shinji's expression was somewhat familiar to Pidge, the expression he got when he was closing himself off. But Pidge was a little smug to determine a pinch of guilt in his eyes, then immediately felt bad for having that smug feeling.

Pidge finally stopped talking, feeling their cheeks heat some and just praying that they said all the right things and none of the wrong ones. They got their confirmation when, suddenly, Mrs. Shirogane reached out and cupped Pidge's cheeks in her hands before gently bending down to kiss Pidge's forehead.

"Thank you." She whispered. "Takashi… He may not be same person inside. And outside. But don't care. Still my son. Still my baby."

She then looked over Pidge's head, at where Lance had no less than three kids attached to him, with his parents also keeping a firm hand on him, as if they were afraid he'd disappear like smoke; at where Hunk was twirling his older sister in his arms while his little sister clung to his back; and at Keith, who had been dragged over to meet the families, initially by Lance to meet his family, then unexpectedly swooped into a hug by Mrs. Kekoa and was learning exactly who Hunk learned how to give bear-hugs from.

"You're all babies…" Mrs. Shirogane whispered, then returned her gaze back to Pidge. Her smile grew some, and it warmed Pidge's heart to see that it was very similar to Shiro's. "Thank you. For bringing home."

Pidge felt their cheeks heat and mumbled out a "you're welcome", not really sure what else to say.

They were slightly relieved when Keith appeared, placing a hand on Pidge's shoulder.

"I'll take them to Shiro," Keith said. "You spend some time with your mom."

Pidge thanked Keith, who then led the four Shiroganes towards the Castle, right as Shiro himself was coming down the ramp.

Pidge watched with a smile as Shiro was suddenly bombarded by his parents and little sister, Mitsu's arms around his waist, Dr. Shirogane's fingers in Shiro's hair, Mrs. Shirogane holding his face to kiss his forehead just as she had done with Pidge a few minutes before.

Pidge felt another hand on their shoulder, and looked up at their mother.

"You did really well." She said, giving her child a smile. "You handled the situation very well. Your father would be so proud of you…"

Pidge blinked back tears at the mention of their father.

"Mom, Dad and Matt… They're alive." Pidge said, reaching up to put their hand on their mother's. "I still don't know where they are, but I'm going to find them. Going to bring them home."

"I know you are." Mrs. Holt said with a small sigh. "Because you are my child, and stubborn like that. And because you are your father's child, you'll save the universe while you're at it."

Mrs. Holt gently cupped Pidge's face, kissing them on the forehead.

"I won't say that I'm not scared. I can't promise I won't worry. But I will say that I am proud of you. I can promise that I will support you. And promise that no matter what happens, I will always love you, Pidge." She said.

Pidge tried to swallow back the tears, but they just kept coming back into their eyes.

"Mom?" They said softly. "Can… For as long as I'm here… Can you call me Katie? Things seemed a lot easier when I was just Katie. As long as I'm here on Earth, can I be your baby girl instead of just your baby?"

Pidge felt the hot tears roll down their—no, em _her_ , _Katie/em_ wanted to be a em _her/em_ right now in em _her/em_ mother's arms—cheeks, wondering if it was just her own tears that were making her mother's eyes also look watery.

"Yes, Katie." Mrs. Holt said, pulling Katie into another hug, showering her with kisses, hands going through her hair. "Yes, my baby girl. You can be."

Wrapped in her mother's arms, Katie cried.

Because in that moment, she wasn't a Paladin of Voltron, pilot of the Green Lion.

She wasn't Pidge Gunderson, or Pidge Holt.

She was still both. Would wake up the next morning and be both. Would return to the Castle and leave Earth and go back to being both full time.

But for now, she was just Katie.

And that was something she had not been in a very long time.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

Time seemed to blur after that.

Pidge didn't remember how long they stood on the tarmac before everyone was herded into armored cars and driven to a hotel. Apparently, it was the same hotel that Lance, Hunk and Shiro's families were staying at, and where Mrs. Holt had organized their get-together.

Pidge definitely remembered that there was a lot of food, and that they couldn't remember the last time they had eaten so much.

The Sanchez-Garcia family had prepared tons of food to bring, more than enough to feed the entire family (not only Lance's immediate family, but both sets of his grandparents had come, with promises from his aunts and uncles and cousins to call and Skype) as well as their new, honorary family members. Lance was more than pleased to discover that this included his em _Abuelita/em_ 's famous empanadas and made each of his teammates eat one to prove that they were the best in the entire universe. Hunk's mother and sisters, like Hunk, were stress-bakers; the Galra invasion had led to at least a dozen concoctions consisting of coconut cakes, pineapple upside-down cakes, and loaves of sweet bread in addition to a lot of other non-dessert type food. Apparently, Mitsu and her mother had joined the Kekoas in the hotel kitchen, with the mother and daughter creating the traditional Japanese meals Mrs. Shirogane served at home; there was a lot of rice-balls, gyoza, buns stuffed with red-bean paste, mochi, and a honey-flavored sponge cake that Shiro very quickly remembered as being one of his favorite foods. But for Pidge, the highlight was their mother's famous peanut-butter cookies.

There were round tables set up, but they all ended up as close as possible. There was a lot of chatter and laughter as everyone ate. There were lots of questions about the Lions and the Castle and Voltron. There were a lot of stories that were shared. Lance's siblings were quick to catch him up on the family gossip and spill embarrassing dirt on each other, which usually left a few people angry while the others howled with laughter, the angry ones waiting until it was their turn to get revenge.

As Lance had predicted, his three youngest siblings were in awe of Allura and the fact that she was a real live princess. Lance's nine-year-old brother Raymon quickly tried to flirt with Allura, which—like Lance's own flirtations—did not work at all and Allura simply thought he was a really charming Earthling child. The rest of Lance's siblings—along with Mitsu, Luana, Kalea, Lani and Tali—were more curious about space and the other aliens they had met.

"Are there lightsabers and stuff?" Lance's brother, Miguel, asked.

"What's the weirdest alien custom or tradition you've experience yet?" Lance's sister Maria asked.

"Is there a universal measuring system or does it vary by planet and galaxy?" Tali asked.

"Do all the ships look like that or is that just what Altean ships look like?" Mitsu asked.

"What do you do if you do something completely normal and it's not on the planet you're on?" Luana asked. "Like, if you sneeze and apparently that's enough to start a civil war or something?"

"What's something that's like a universally understood concept or gesture or whatever?" Kalea asked.

The answers ranged from Paladin to Paladin, but they agreed on the answer to Kalea's question, one they had found out the hard way a few times now:

"You break it, you buy it."

The moms and Lance's grandmothers had all apparently decided—in lieu of Keith not having any of his own family there—to gang up on the Red Paladin, all proclaiming him to be too skinny and stuffing food onto his plate. He ended up getting seated across from Lance, who had his baby sister Bella on his lap, the seven year old having claimed Lance's lap as her seat the moment he sat down and made it clear that she was not going to move anytime soon. But Keith soon realized that her blue eyes were trained on him, narrowed slightly. He shifted awkwardly under her gaze when he noticed, then shyly waved at her. She then turned and looked up at Lance, saying something in Spanish that made him laugh and respond in the same language.

"Hey, if you're going to make fun of me, at least do it in a language I understand." Keith said, which only caused Lance's grin to grow bigger.

"You hear that, _Belleza_? He thinks we're making fun of him." Lance asked, gently poking his sister in the sides.

Bella suddenly had a rather large, mischievous grin that Keith thought looked rather like her big brother's.

"Maybe we should keep letting him think that." She said.

Keith was suddenly really grateful that Lance didn't introduce Keith as his boyfriend, if this is what he got when he was just Lance's teammate.

Just then, Keith and Lance both noticed a young soldier coming in the room and up to Shiro, passing him a note. Shiro had barely thanked him before he was out of the room.

"Everything okay?" Keith asked as Shiro read the note.

"We have a meeting, tomorrow morning at eleven." Shiro explained. "With the President of the United States. It'll be in one of the conference rooms here, since security has already swept through."

"Good." Allura said with a nod. "I wish to establish diplomatic contact with as many of your world leaders while we are here, as well as answer any and all questions they may have about Voltron and the Galra."

"Ooh, ooh, can you do an official interview for the blog while you're here?" Lani asked excitedly.

"I believe we can arrange that." Allura promised with a smile.

" _Qué_?" Mrs. Sanchez-Garcia said suddenly, looking around at the Paladins, before focusing on her son, her eyes wide. " _No entiendo_. What do you mean 'while you are here'?"

"Well," Lance said, shifting Bella some on his lap as she twisted around to look up at him. "Well, I guess we'll need a few days to make repairs and get some supplies and stuff. But then we have to go back."

" _Por qué_?" Bella asked, reaching up to clutch onto Lance's shoulder, her eyes suddenly wide and teary. " _Para qué_?"

"Because we have to, _Belleza_." Lance said, gently running his thumb over her cheek, giving her a smile. "We're the Defenders of the Universe. It's our job."

"Yeah," Hunk said. "There's so many planets that have been under Galra rule for ten thousand years. We need to help them, to free them."

"It's horrible, what the Galra have done." Allura said. "They'll either destroy worlds with a single blow, or they will slowly kill planets over hundreds of years. One of our first missions as Team Voltron was to rescue a Balmera, a petrified living creature the size of a planet. The Galra were slowly killing it and enslaved the Balmerans who lived there."

"And they force their prisoners to work in labor colonies." Pidge added. "And that's where my dad and brother, Matt, are."

"Emperor Zarkon has little care for the lives of others. What he can't use, he'll destroy." Shiro said.

"No." Mrs. Sanchez-Garcia said, shaking her head as she stared at Lance. "No. You are finally home… No, I forbid it."

" _Mamá_ ," Lance said with an almost groan. "It doesn't work that way… I have to go. It's not like they can just find a new pilot for Blue that easy." Lance then hesitated and looked around at the other Paladins and Allura, suddenly looking a little panicked. "Right?"

As all five opened their mouths at the same time to say, "no, of course not", someone spoke before them.

"Yeah." Shinji said. "I mean, you're all really young. Wouldn't it be better to give the Lions to older pilots and soldiers? People who have a lot more training?"

"No. That can't be done." Coran answered. "To do so would be detrimental not only to the entire universe, but to each of the Paladins and their safety and well-being. Not to mention, the Lions have already chosen their Paladins. If they are offered another pilot now, the Lions could reject them entirely. And, if they don't, if they let anyone other than their chosen Paladin pilot them, the new pilots would never be given the same protection that this team has."

Everyone turned to stare at Coran, who had thus far been uncharacteristically silent that evening.

He nodded at Mrs. Sanchez-Garcia and her husband, then at Mrs. Kekoa, Mr. and Mrs. Shiorgane, and Mrs. Holt.

"My good ladies, my fair gentlemen, your sons—and, small non-binary child—will be safe, so long as they are together. Or, perhaps more accurately, as long as they are Paladins of Voltron." Coran explained. "You see, to form Voltron, each Paladin needs to form a bond with their Lion, with their individual teammates, and as a team." Coran looked at each Paladin individually before saying. "And all of these bonds are stronger with this team than it ever was with the Original Paladins."

"The Original… Wait, how do you know?" Hunk asked, brow furrowing.

"Well, I knew the original Paladins." Coran said simply.

"No, how do you know we're stronger than them?" Hunk reiterated.

Coran pressed his fingertips together and leaned back in his chair.

"The fact that your fates seemed to all be tied together before you knew anything about Voltron, to begin with." Coran said. "That five perfect candidates found each other before they ever found the Lions. Five candidates that were accepted by the Lions almost instantly once they were found. Pidge and Shiro are connected by the Kerberos mission and their respective relationships to the good Commander Holt and young Matthew. Shiro mentored Keith, who until his expulsion was in the same class as Lance and Hunk, who were randomly assigned as roommates at the Garrison. And then when Pidge entered the Garrison, they were assigned to a team with Lance and Hunk."

"Which we wouldn't have, if Keith hadn't been kicked out and I hadn't gotten bumped up to fighter pilot." Lance said with realization.

"And if I hadn't been expelled, I wouldn't have started searching for Blue." Keith said.

"And if I hadn't been promoted to flight crew, I might never have met Pidge." Hunk added. "I started as ground crew. I liked ground crew, by the way. There were a lot less alien warlords to be taken down when I was part of ground crew."

"And if I wasn't part of Lance and Hunk's team, they wouldn't have had a reason to come follow me to the roof that night." Pidge said contemplatively before looking up at Coran with a frown. "But, that's all like a fluke, isn't it?"

"Not a fluke, Number Five." Coran said. "Fate and destiny. They work in interesting ways, don't they?"

"So, we were all destined to know each other one way or another and become friends?" Hunk asked.

"One way or another." Coran answered. "And the Lions—particularly the Blue Lion—have a part in shaping your fated convergence."

"Blue?" Lance said, blinking. "Because she was the one on Earth?"

"Amongst other things, yes. But the Blue Lion was the only Lion to call out for the Paladins, even though the one who heard her first was not to be her pilot." Coran said.

"Yeah, why was that?" Keith asked. "I spent months tracking her down, but then she chose Lance. Not going to lie, that kind of pissed me off at first."

"The Blue Lion represents faith and trust." Allura said softly. "She would need a Paladin with an open heart as well as an open mind."

"The Blue Lion needed to trust someone to bring her Paladin to her. She chose to put that trust in you, Keith." Coran said. "But while you are open-minded, you keep your heart closed off and withhold trust. Like with the Red Lion, you need to have someone earn your respect before you give them trust and let them in. Lance, however, will trust until given a reason not to. The Blue Lion and the Red Lion are designed to balance each other in that regard."

Keith nodded in understanding, as did Lance, who was now starting to understand his Lion better as well as his own relationship with Keith.

"But that can't be your only reason for saying that." Shiro said.

"You are correct." Coran said. "As I told you when you first started forming Voltron, it took years of individual practice and bonding for the Original Paladins to form Voltron. But you all managed to cram all of those years into a single day. And even after all that training, it took months for the Original Paladins to form Voltron as easily as you did on that afternoon. And the Green Lion and the Black Lion proved how strong the Paladin-Lion bond is for your team the very next afternoon."

"Wait, you mean when Green and Black moved on their own to protect me and Shiro when the Robobeast crashed on Arus?" Pidge said.

"That is exactly what I am referring to." Coran said with a nod.

"They weren't supposed to do that?" Shiro asked, brow furrowing.

"Well, yes, but after years of bonding." Coran said. "I will admit, I did not believe either of you at first when you told me of that incident. I cannot tell you how long I spent denying that the only explanation was impossible. Improbable. You were all so young, so inexperienced. And yet, two days later, I was forced to concede that the impossible was not only possible, but happening. And we have Sendak to thank for that."

Then, Coran turned to look at Lance.

"And you, Lance." He said.

"Me?" Lance said, pointing to himself, confused. "Wait, how? What did I do?"

"It started when you realized that the small droid was not, in fact, Pidge's Rover. That it was a bomb." Coran said.

At this point, it appeared that the assembled parents, siblings and friends were just now really grasping what kind of danger that the Paladins faced on a daily basis. And based off the expressions on their faces, none of them liked it. Coran, however, did not notice and continued to speak,

"The explosion very nearly killed you, Lance." Coran said, ignoring the pained noises that were coming from the Sanchez-Garcia clan that came from his statement. "Actually, the entire day without a healing pod should have killed you, too."

By now, the Paladins and Allura had very wide eyes, all shaking their heads and making gestures at Coran to stop talking, especially as Lance's mother seemed to grow angrier and angrier by the second and Hunk's mother was biting her lip, looking at her own son with concern. Even Mrs. Holt, who promised Pidge her full support, was looking a little remorseful at making such a promise so soon.

"Coran… Coran, that is the opposite of what we need right now!" Hunk said, waving his hands.

"And then, of all things, you come out of a coma for a matter of seconds and use that time to shoot at one of the most feared commanders in the Galra fleet, giving your teammates an upper-hand in defeating him!" Coran said, ignoring them.

"Welp," Lance said dramatically, slumping backwards in his chair, head dangling over the back of it. "I'm grounded. It was nice flying with you guys. Thanks for letting me play Voltron with you. Let me know if you guys defeat Zarkon. Maybe I'll be let out of my room by then and allowed to interact with the outside world…"

"Coran, maybe we should change the subject now…" Allura said quickly.

"Hang on, let me finish." Coran said, giving Allura a sharp look that took her aback and surprised the other Paladins, who had never seen Coran be sharp with the Princess. "I have gone over that footage dozens of times. Lance was able to come out of that coma to protect his teammates. But at the same time, it wasn't Lance."

"Wait, what?" Lance said, immediately sitting up straight again. "Yeah, that was me. I remember that."

"Yes, you do. But it wasn't you in control. Not entirely, at least." Coran said.

"Then, if not Lance, who?" Shiro asked, his right hand almost instinctively curling into a fist.

"You can relax, Shiro." Coran said immediately. "I know where your train of thought is going. But it is the opposite of what you think. It was the Blue Lion."

"Blue?" Was the echoed response.

"Wait, what, how?" Hunk asked.

"Can all of our Lions do that?" Pidge asked, eyes wide.

"Yes, Pidge, they can, but only in incredibly dire circumstances." Coran said. "As for how… Well, by now you have all realized that the Lions are to some extent sentient? I believe the term you have all used to describe them before is 'magic'. And they are magic. They are immortal Lion goddesses, who have taken metal forms to serve as protectors of peace throughout the galaxy. These Lions have chosen more than just pilots. They have chosen someone to share their magic with. To use that magic to protect that person."

Coran then looked directly at Lance's mother as he spoke.

"I cannot promise that they will come home without a scratch. But I can promise you that these Lions will bring their Paladins home, so long as the bond between them stays strong. There will be scars, yes. But they will come home, alive." Coran said. "So long as they are a team. So long as they can form Voltron… Yes, they will have to fight, but they do so for those who cannot."

Mrs. Sanchez-Garcia's glare and anger seemed to melt as she looked at her lap, hiding her face. Her husband gently put a hand on her back.

" _Mamá_ , _papá_ ," Lance said softly, reaching across his father to grab hold of his mother's hand. " _Por favor_?"

Mrs. Sanchez-Garcia hesitated, then looked at her husband, before both nodded.

" _Muchas gracias_!" Lance said with a sigh of relief, grinning.

"But you all have to promise to keep in touch with us on a regular basis." Mrs. Kekoa said, looking at her own son as she said so. "Let us know that you are okay."

"We can try, but we haven't exactly had the best luck with cell-phone signals in space." Hunk said.

"No, but… Hunk, you said you managed to get a connection to the internet while in space?" Lani said.

"Well, yeah, so I guess e-mail and stuff…" Hunk said.

"Or…" Lani said. "A video blog, maybe? Perhaps one that already exists and is dedicated to Voltron with a follower count in the millions?"

"Are you asking to go to space with us?" Shiro asked.

Lani hesitated, then nodded shyly before saying,

"I mean, I'll do stuff other than blog! I don't really have any special skills like fighting or piloting and I can barely tell the difference between a wrench and a screwdriver, but I can cook or clean and I do know some basic first aid from lifeguard training. Oh, I can sew a bit, too, if that helps. Really don't know what other kind of space chores there are to be done, but I could probably do it!"

"Hey, excuse me, those videos are a two-woman job." Tali said, standing up to come put her hand on Lani's shoulder, a small smile playing on the corners of her mouth. "You just going to ditch me and go solo?"

"Well, I didn't want to speak for you." Lani said. "I mean, you have your Gran and your job…"

"My Gran knows I've always wanted to go to space. And I hate my job." Tali said with a wave of her hand. "Besides, I've been training to go to space since I was twelve. And I think with the help of Hunk, Pidge and Coran, I can probably pick up alien engineering skills." She looked up at Shiro. "So, how about it? Will you let the two of us go with you?"

"Ask Allura." Shiro said instantly. "Her castle."

"Ask Shiro. He is Head of Voltron." Allura said with a small smile. She had already decided she liked both girls and would love for them to join the Castle. Especially because she could see just how much Lani meant to Hunk. "But, my answer is yes."

Shiro sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Okay, Tali's legally an adult so none of us could stop her if we tried. And I get the feeling I have tried before." He said.

"You have, and you failed. Many times, actually." Tali said with a nod.

"But Lani, you at least need parental permission." Shiro said, ignoring Tali.

"That's fair." Lani said with a nod.

At that point, the Paladins attempted to recapture the lighter mood, promising to introduce their family members to the Lions and show them around the Castle. Keith, however, glanced over to see that Lance's lap was missing a little sister and turned just in time to see Bella leave the room, somehow unnoticed.

Keith stood up, excused himself, and went to follow the little girl.

He didn't have to go far.

He found her sitting behind a large potted plant across from the dining room, her arms wrapped around her knees and sniffling.

Keith hesitated; he wasn't good with kids, or girls, and definitely not tears. But—he told himself—he was good with Lance, and this was Lance's little sister. Lance's precious _Belleza_.

Eventually, Keith wanted this little girl to know him as her brother's boyfriend. But, more importantly, he wanted her to like him.

So he took a deep breath and stepped forward, going to sit down on Bella's other side.

"You know, it's not a good thing to wander off on your own." Keith said. "Stranger danger and all that. It's not safe."

Bella looked up at him with narrowed, teary eyes.

"We're probably in the safest building in the world right now." She pointed out, gesturing to where a group of guards stood chatting.

"Uh, fair point." Keith said. "But you're going to make your Mom and Dad and Lance worry about you."

"Let them worry." Bella spat bitterly. "I'm angry with all three of them."

"Why?" Keith asked.

"Because!" Bella said, kicking one of her legs out into the air, glaring at the toe of her dirty pink sneaker. "Because Lance is leaving me again! And because _mamá_ and _papá_ are letting him!"

With that, she brought her leg back down and buried her face in her knees, crying again.

Keith awkwardly reached his hand out, gently patting her on the back.

"You know," He said quietly. "Lance was so scared you'd be angry with him when he got back.

Bella's shoulders stopped shaking some as she listened.

"He told me that you didn't want him going back to the Garrison at the beginning of the year. That you wanted him to stay home." Keith said.

He remembered, just the night before—had it really only been the night before?—laying in Lance's bed, gently running his hand over Lance's stomach while Lance stared up at the ceiling, his own hand in Keith's hair, telling him about how, the day before he moved back to the Garrison to start his third year, Bella had woken up from a nightmare. That she had seen him walking into the Garrison, but when she followed him, he was gone. She couldn't find him. He just disappeared. She begged him to stay home, to not go back, had cried and clung to him. And Lance, probably for the first time ever, told his _Belleza_ no. He wasn't just going to drop out, especially not after he had finally made fighter pilot. She was understandably angry with him, but Lance refused to be swayed. She had reluctantly hugged him and kissed him good-bye at the airport, and he promised her that he would see her at Christmas.

But then, he had done exactly as she feared.

He walked into the Garrison. And disappeared without a trace.

"I don't know if this makes you feel better at all, but I don't think Lance really wants to leave. He'd like to stay here. But he knows he has a job to do." Keith said. "He gets homesick really easily. He misses you and your parents and your brothers and sisters. But he knows that there are families under the Galra that have been separated. Other little sisters who just want to be with their big brothers. Pidge is one of them. Lance is trying to help Pidge find their big brother. He has a job to protect the entire universe, and bring families together. And he's very good at it."

"But is what the Mustache Man said true?" Bella asked, lifting her tear-streaked face, lower lip quivering just like Lance when he was upset. "Will he be okay? He'll come home?"

"Of course he will." Keith said. "He's got us to look out for him. And he looks out for the rest of us, too. That's how our team works. We're kind of a family of our own, I guess you could say. We all still have our own families, so really it's like a lot of small—well, your family is huge so not-so-small—families are making one big one."

"So, does that make you my brother now, too?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, sure, I guess. If you want me to be." Keith said with a shrug.

Bella hesitated, then nodded.

"Yeah…" She said. "That'd be cool." She hesitated, then said, "But you promise that Lance is gonna come back?"

"Of course he is." Keith said. "Bella, look at me."

Bella hesitantly looked up at Keith, tilting her head as Keith looked directly into her eyes.

"Bella, I promise you, as Lance's friend and as yours, I'm going to make sure your brother comes home in one piece. I promise I'll protect him so that he'll come home and be able to stay home. That you'll be able to hug him as much as you want and will never have to worry about him again." Keith said. "You have my word as the pilot of the Red Lion, as a Paladin of Voltron."

Bella bit her lip, then held up her hand, her pinky finger raised.

"Pinky promise?" She asked.

Keith linked his pinky finger around hers and nodded.

"Pinky promise." He confirmed.

Bella smiled.

" _Gracias_." She said.

" _De nada_." Keith said, utilizing one of the few Spanish phrases he remembered from hours of _Dora the Explorer_ on the television in the group homes. "So, will you tell me what you told Lance earlier? About me?"

"Oh, that." Bella said, grinning now. "I told Lance that he lied about how ugly your hair was. That it's not really that bad at all."

Keith frowned at that.

"Yeah, and what did he say?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"He told me I'd appreciate it's ugliness as I got older." Bella said with a giggle.

Lance was going to pay for that later.

Keith suddenly smirked.

And he knew exactly how.

"Hey, you wanna hear about all the embarrassing stuff your brother's done in space?" He asked.

Bella's eyes lit up.

"Uh huh." She said, her grin growing.

"Alright then, let me tell you the story of the time your brother got himself handcuffed to a tree because he was flirting with a girl."

"Was it Princess Allura?"

"No, but after this one I'll tell you the story of their first meeting. You'll love it."

And Keith was right. She did.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine:

Pidge woke up well-rested for the first time in a very long time. Though the bed they were lying in was unfamiliar, they were warm and comfortable, their mother's arms around them.

Pidge slowly pulled out of their mother's hold to look at the alarm clock on the table beside the hotel bed. It was barely eight in the morning. Pidge's stomach growled some, hoping breakfast was still being served.

They had a feeling that they could get just about anything right now, though, even if they decided they wanted a three-course dinner at three in the morning.

Bella, followed by Keith, had come running back into the room the night before, excitedly telling everyone that the President had arrived. He had sent a secret service agent to explain that the President would see them all in the morning, but did not want to disrupt the reunion between the Paladins and their families. Mrs. Holt gave permission for some of the agents to go to her home to get some things for herself, Pidge and Tali, as—for security reasons—the President's Head of Security did not want any of the Paladins, the Alteans or their friends and family to leave the building. Apparently, there had been quite a press gathering outside as well, which was part of the reason for this. Lani and Tali were pleased to learn that the President was serious in that they and their blog would be the ones with all the news of Team Voltron first and foremost.

The hotel manager was more than happy to accommodate all the new guests and apparently had staff members calling and begging to come in to work, all hoping for a glimpse of the Paladins and the two Alteans.

Pidge went over to the bag and picked through the clothes that the agent had brought in a bag for them. Pidge picked out a pair of jeans and a nice t-shirt for breakfast, since they knew they'd need to wear their armor for the meeting. They ducked into the bathroom to shower, dress and brush their teeth.

They were surprised to find that the jeans showed a bit more ankle than the last time they had worn this pair, and the T-shirt was a little tight, especially around the chest. Pidge paused and studied their reflection in the mirror. Considering that—in space—the only things they wore were baggy Earth clothes, their Paladin suit, and the occasional fancy piece of clothing from Allura's wardrobe, Pidge hadn't noticed that they had grown over the past few months. They wondered if there was anything that fit at home, or if they'd have to buy all new clothes to go with this new height and figure—even if both were still considered very small and growing.

Speaking of growing…

They frowned as they grabbed hold of the damp ends of their hair. It had gotten longer over the last few months, hanging nearly to their shoulders.

They liked it when their hair was so long, long enough to braid or pull into a ponytail. It had been painful to cut it; they had loved their hair, even on its most difficult days. It was almost a point of pride with the way it hung to their waist. Their favorite feature about their appearance.

But they also liked it short. It was easier to manage with their helmet. They often wondered if it was stubbornness or true affection for his hair style that Keith kept his hair as long as he did.

Pidge closed their eyes.

They wanted to grow their hair out again someday.

But cutting their hair had been one of the many steps in this journey to find their father and brother.

And they weren't going to let their hair be that long again until they reached the end of that journey.

No, their hair would need to be cut again.

But, at the same time, they didn't exactly want to go back to the style they had as Pidge Gunderson.

Pidge was biologically a girl. Felt like a girl most of the time. But at the same time, they had enjoyed their time as a boy. Had some days where they felt like a boy before the Garrison. Pronouns didn't really matter, but 'they' worked the best when even they weren't so sure how they felt that particular day, whether it was both genders, somewhere in-between, or changed as hours passed.

They were a girl. They were a boy. They were both. And sometimes they were neither.

And they wanted to do something with their hair that reflected that.

They expressed this to their mother, who nodded in understanding.

"Why don't you ask Mrs. Kekoa to help you?" Mrs. Holt said as she pulled on her shoes. "She's a hairdresser. Maybe she knows a style that would work best for you."

Pidge nodded, vaguely remembering a conversation with Hunk and Lance in the Garrison Mess Hall, while the two boys were trying to be friendly to their new teammate. They remembered Hunk mentioning that his mother could do magic with hair.

They wondered if that magic would apply to the infamously stubborn Holt hair that Matt and Pidge had both inherited from their father.

"I'll ask after breakfast." Pidge said. "Speaking of, you ready?"

"Yes," Their mother said. "Though I can't believe you're hungry after all you ate last night."

"I've been surviving on green food goo and the occasional weird but edible fruit or vegetable for the last six months." Pidge said with a grin. "I plan on eating as much Earth food as I possibly can whenever I can while I'm here."

Pidge and Mrs. Holt were joined at the elevator by Shiro and Mitsu, the latter of whom had her arm wrapped around Shiro's. Pidge was both a little surprised and pleased to notice that it was the right arm—the cybernetic arm—that Mitsu was clutching to, the part of Shiro he felt the most self-conscious about, one of the most prominent changes in his appearance and the one he worried would scare others the most. And, most importantly, Shiro was smiling, having apparently said something that made the younger girl giggle as they approached. Pidge was also happy to see that Shiro seemed well-rested, which they hadn't seen in a very long time, which meant he had actually gotten some sleep the night before.

Greetings were exchanged as the elevator doors opened. Pidge noticed that, while their mother had always been warm to Shiro, she seemed to be even more so now, after the conversation they had had the night before in the privacy of their own room. Pidge had told their mother everything they knew about what had happened to their father and brother, including how Shiro had protected Matt by taking Matt's place in the fighting arena, with an added plea to not mention any of this information to anyone else.

"Are your parents and brother already downstairs?" Mrs. Holt asked as Mitsu pressed the button for the first floor.

"No, they'll meet us down in a few minutes." Shiro explained.

Throughout the elevator ride, Pidge felt the odd feeling that they were being watched. And, they realized, that feeling wasn't for naught. Mitsu was watching them, eyes curious and thoughtful but also a little awestruck. But whenever Pidge tried to meet the younger girl's gaze, she quickly turned away, looking down at her feet shyly. So Pidge was a little surprised when, after they got off the elevator, Mitsu grabbed Pidge's wrist.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Pidge said, waving to their mother and Shiro to go on ahead while Mitsu pulled her down the hall. The younger girl then suddenly looked shy again.

"I… I wanted to thank you. For what you did last night, talking to us before we saw Takashi and stuff." Mitsu said. "We all wanted to see him as soon as possible, but, we needed to know what you told us."

"I only really did what I knew Takashi would do for one of us, or what my dad would do for one of his crewmembers." Pidge said.

"You did more than what the Garrison did when they told us he was dead." Mitsu pointed out. She hesitated, staring down at her feet. "You know, when my mother spoke to you last night… That was the first time she had spoken English since that day. Chichi was seriously considering moving us back to Japan. Haha had been homesick for years, but after… Kerberos… it was a full-blown depression. Things weren't okay. And right now, they're still not. But they're going to get better. I know they're going to get better. It's going to be hard, but we'll get there. Maybe we would have gotten there eventually without Takashi. But there are no words in any language to express how grateful, how happy I am that he's back, back in our lives and… And I know things won't be the same. Never be the same. Not for him, not for Haha or Chichi or me or Shinji… But our family is whole again."

Pidge was surprised when Mitsu suddenly reached forward and grabbed Pidge's hands, looking up to meet Pidge's eyes.

"And I know your family will be whole again, too. And I'm sorry that it's not now like ours is. But I wanted you to know that I think you're so brave for everything you've done and what you're going to do. You've helped my family a lot, and I want to do the same for yours in any way I can."

Pidge smiled and squeezed Mitsu's hands.

"From what I've seen, you already have." Pidge said.

Mitsu frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?" She asked. "How?"

"You've been brave. You've been kind and supportive, and most importantly shown Takashi a whole lot of love and care. When I first saw him this morning, I almost didn't recognize him. He looked happy, and I know the last time he looked like he actually slept was weeks ago. He tries so hard to be this pillar of strength all the time, to care for us and protect us and guide us. But we all know it's hard. He rarely lets his guard down, rarely lets us try to take care of him like he does for us. If you are one of those people he will let his guard down around, if he can relax and actually sleep and just be happy… Then you have done a lot of great things for Team Voltron, for the entire universe in a very short amount of time. And I owe you my thanks for that."

Mitsu smiled, beaming at the praise from Pidge.

"Then I'm glad that I could help Takashi and the entire universe at the same time." Mitsu said.

Pidge grinned and gently put their hand on Mitsu's shoulder, only after doing so realizing that that was something Shiro did a lot of.

"Alright, now let's go get some breakfast." Pidge said. "Because neither of us can do our jobs on empty stomachs."

Mitsu nodded and followed Pidge into the dining room.

The dining room was basically as they had left it the night before, and just as loud and chaotic and full of chatter. However, this morning, there was more of a kids' table and an adults' table, with the college students gathered in their own corner griping about their professors, assignments and how life did in fact go on even after an alien invasion.

"I can't believe Professor Johnson is still expecting this paper by the due date!" Kalea groaned as she was typing on her laptop. "I mean, did we not just get attacked by eight feet tall purple chinchillas from space? That's got to be extension worthy."

"I'm suddenly hoping no one's expecting any of the homework we missed." Lance said with a frown, after over-hearing this, pausing before he dug back into his oatmeal.

"So am I," Shiro said, with a sudden horrified expression. "You all have six months of missed school, but I've missed about two years!"

"You didn't miss much, I can promise you that." Tali said as she stirred sugar into her coffee.

"Wait, didn't you say that the Garrison kicked you out, too?" Pidge said as they found a seat between Tali and Mitsu. "What exactly happened with that?"

"Well, I say kicked out, but I was rather nicely asked to leave." Tali explained.

"What? Why?" Hunk asked. "You're practically on god-level status amongst the engineering crowd at the Garrison."

"Yeah, but I was a flight engineer who suddenly didn't have a crew. I was sixth year, and they couldn't just assign me to a new team. Not that I wanted to be assigned to a new one anyways." Tali said. "So, I stuck around a few months, but then I got called to Iverson's office and given an offer I literally could not refuse. A rather nice position working with NASA engineers."

"That's incredible!" Hunk said with wide-eyed awe.

"Wait, didn't you say you hated your job? 'Cause that does sound really awesome." Carlos said.

"Well, it's okay, and I'm good at it, but it's not where I wanted to be." Tali explained. "And I felt like I didn't really deserve to be there, either. I got the position partly out of pity, and partly because I got the feeling the Garrison wanted to get rid of me. But I didn't really want to stay at the Garrison much longer, either. There was very little I was getting out of it without a team."

"Why did you stay so long then, if you weren't happy?" Allura asked as she daintily cut up a cinnamon roll. She was already on her third one and had declared it to be her favorite Earth dish so far, but was still unsure why Lance and Pidge frequently referred to Hunk as a "Cinnamon roll too pure for this world".

"Because I was trying to fulfill the last promise I made to my best friend before his supposed death." Tali said, giving a small smile at Shiro, then nodded at Keith. "Which was to look out for this dork of an underclassman he mentored." Her eyes suddenly narrowed as she glared at Keith. "Who then proceeded to get himself kicked out of the Garrison less than twenty-four hours after I had left, after begging him to keep his head down and anger in check and to call me if he ever needed anything!"

"Hey, I was provoked!" Keith said defensively.

"Keith, when I first met you, you were a five foot four, hundred and twenty pound ball of barely-a-teen angst who wanted to fight everything and everyone." Tali said flatly. "Five years later, the only thing that has changed is your height, and not by much. 'Provoked' could mean anything."

"Hey, I've put on weight too!" Keith protested. "And all of it is muscle! And I don't try to fight everyone."

"I have literally watched you yell 'Fight me!' to a bird who stole the crust off your sandwich one day at lunch. I have fond memories of me and Matt laughing so hard we cried while you chased said bird around and as it taunted you, resulting in you landing on your face more than once when you tried to capture it, all the while Shiro is yelling at you to stop harassing the poor bird." Tali said.

By this point, everyone at the table—except Keith and, trying desperately to keep a straight face, Shiro—was laughing hysterically at this.

"You should have just let the bird have it." Lance said, wiping away the tears forming in his eyes. "I mean, it was only the crusts and everyone knows that's like the least fun part of a sandwich."

"I like the crusts. It's my favorite part. I tore them off to save them for the end and that stupid bird took them!" Keith said, cheeks red. Lance gasped dramatically, hand going to his heart.

"What?" He said. "I can't be seen with someone who likes the crust on sandwiches! Next you'll be saying you like pineapple on pizza!"

"Hey, I like pineapple on pizza." Hunk said defensively, which elicited another dramatic gasp from Lance, his other hand going to his heart as he turned to Hunk with wide eyes.

"What!?" He exclaimed. "First Pidge is a girl, then Keith likes the crust on sandwiches, and now you like pineapple on pizza, Hunk? I feel like I don't even know you… Any of you!" Lance suddenly turned to Shiro, who was slowly losing his own straight face. "How will you betray me, Shiro? How will you turn upon me like these monsters have?"

Shiro chuckled.

"Well, I guess I'm just going to have to keep you on your guard, then." He said.

At this point, Pidge noticed three people enter the room, a frustrated but determined looking Shinji followed by his parents, who were regarding their younger son with some concern.

"Hey, Mitsu?" Pidge whispered, leaning over to the younger girl. "What's going on with your brother and your parents?"

Mitsu shrugged.

"Don't know." She said with a frown as she glanced at Shinji. "Whatever has happened, it took place after Takashi and I came down here."

Just then, Shinji came marching up to stand beside Shiro.

"I have parental permission, Takashi." Shinji said. "I want to go with you."

"What?" Pidge said, then, before they could stop their mouth, said, "No!"

"I'm not asking you, Pidge, I'm asking Takashi." Shinji said, a bit sharply.

Shiro stared at his younger brother for a moment while the other Paladins exchanged hesitant glances. Though they were all looking forward to the two new members of their crew, they were a little hesitant about a third. Or, at least, this particular volunteer. They all remembered how Shinji had treated Shiro the night before. The younger Paladins were very protective of Shiro, just as he was with them. They did not forgive anyone who harmed him—emotionally or physically—very easily.

"You want to come?" Shiro asked, his brow furrowing. Shinji nodded.

"I'm fluent in both Japanese and English. I have a black belt in karate. I have some piloting training and some basic understanding of engineering, but my Garrison training is predominately computer and communications based. Technically I'd be assigned to a crew in the fall there anyway." Shinji said, face blank and voice flat as he verbally gave his resume. "You're letting Lani go and she has no background training for space travel at all. Lance, Hunk and Keith have basically the same amount of Garrison education that I do, and Pidge has even less than that."

Then he gave a small smile to Shiro as he said,

"And, as your brother, I've known you the longest. I can help you get your memories back. That is," He tilted his head to the side some. "Unless you don't want them back."

Pidge glared at Shinji over Mitsu's head.

It was a deliberate guilt trip. Designed to ensure that Shiro really couldn't say no.

Shiro looked towards Allura.

"Allura, we are your Paladins, and it is your Castle. You need to give approval for anyone we let on board and join our crew." Shiro said.

Allura hesitated as she glanced over to see the glare Pidge was giving her, silently pleading with the Princess to say no.

Allura closed her eyes and took a deep breath before saying,

"No, Shiro, this has to be your decision, your approval. You may be my Paladins, yes, but you are ultimately the head of Voltron. Furthermore, Shinji is not one of my subjects. This is your planet, not mine. I cannot be the deciding factor in this case."

Allura gave Pidge an apologetic look as the youngest Paladin narrowed their eyes at the Princess. But Pidge couldn't really blame her

Allura was right; she didn't have a place in this discussion. And it really wouldn't be fair to say no after saying yes so easily to Lani and Tali the previous night, especially as Lani—as Shinji pointed out—had no training whatsoever for space.

"Alright." Shiro said, giving Shinji a smile. "Then welcome aboard. Er, figuratively speaking."

Shinji nodded, then turned around and left the dining room without another word.

The whole exchange made Pidge wonder what ulterior motive Shinji had.

"Well, it's a good thing the Castle's huge, since we just gained three new residents." Hunk said, trying to diffuse the tension, especially seeing that Pidge was glaring at the entryway with a death-grip on the plastic fork in their hand.

"Can we see the Castle?" Bella asked, looking up at Lance. "And the Lions?"

"Of course!" Lance said. "We'll give you all the grand tour. And Blue is just going to gobble you up!"

He poked at Bella's sides, which made her giggle.

"Can you take us for a ride?" Raymon asked with big eyes.

"Yeah!" Lance said, reaching over to ruffle his younger brother's hair. "Blue loves to show off."

"As does her pilot." Keith said with a small smile.

"We can go after the meeting is concluded." Allura said. "I know I am eager to get back to the Castle. And I imagine the Lions are getting anxious without their Paladins nearby."

"Yeah, I can't remember the last time we were away from the Lions for this long." Hunk said. "I mean, even with this mental link thing, I still want to see Yellow to know she's okay."

"Not to mention we need to get them fixed up." Pidge said. "And the Castle, too."

"And we'll need to restock." Lance said. "We did not pack for space, that's for sure. Gotta fix that this time." Suddenly, he grinned. "Hey, Allura, do you want to see a Earth mall?"

"What is a 'mall'?" Allura asked.

"It's this huge building—nearly as big as the Castle—with all these shops, and each shop has something different." Lance said. "Some have clothes or shoes, others have appliances, some have candles or soaps or that sort of thing. There's even a food court, which is like a dozen different restaurants all in one place."

"Including the Great American Cookie." Alicia said. "They have those awesome M&M sugar cookies."

"I have been dreaming about those cookies for a long time now…" Lance said wistfully.

"Oh my gosh, you think you like cinnamon rolls now, wait till you get a Cinnabon cinnamon roll." Hunk said. "Those things are huge!"

Allura's eyes went wide at the mention of her new favorite treat.

"I must see this mall…" She whispered.

"Did I hear something about shopping?" Maria said, head jolting up from whatever she was working on. "I want in."

Before further plans could be made, Pidge saw that Mrs. Kekoa was preparing to leave the room. With a quick 'Be right back', Pidge ran after her.

"Mrs. Kekoa!" They called, causing the older woman to pause and turn to Pidge with a smile.

"Aw, don't call me that. I look over my shoulder for my mother-in-law every time someone calls me that." She said. "You can call me 'Aunty Kalena', if you want. Really, the only kids who don't call me that are my own."

"Aunty Kalena, then," Pidge said with a smile. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"Name it, child." Aunty Kalena said with a nod.

"Well, Hunk says that you can pretty much do magic with hair, and well…" Pidge gestured to their own head. "My hair needs all the magic it can get."

Aunty Kalena's smile grew.

"I can see what I can do." She promised. "Go finish eating, then come up to my room. I'll get my supplies ready."

"Thank you!" Pidge said. "I'll be up in about five to ten minutes!"

They quickly ran back to their meal, scarfed it down and promised to see everyone later. Less than three minutes after that, they were sitting in the desk chair in Aunty Kalena's room, her scissors and combs lined up on a towel.

"Alright, my dear, now what is it you want done with your hair?" Aunty Kalena asked as she started to brush out the tangles. "Just the dead ends off?"

"Well, I kind of want it short," Pidge admitted. "It's easier to deal with my helmet and that sort of thing. And…" Pidge hesitated.

"And?" Aunty Kalena prompted.

"Before Kerberos, my hair was really long." Pidge said. "And that was when I was just Katie Holt. But then, when I went to the Garrison and was pretending to be a boy, I cut it all off to be Pidge Gunderson. But now I'm Pidge Holt. I'm somewhere… in between…"

Aunty Kalena put down the brush and turned Pidge around to face her.

"You don't need to explain." She said with a smile. "I understand what you mean."

"You do?" Pidge said, blinking. "Are… Are you gender-fluid too?"

"I personally am not. But…" Aunty Kalena stepped over to her suitcase and pulled out a photo album. She flipped it open to a picture of Hunk at about age seven, standing on a stool and helping a man cook at a counter. Aunty Kalena pointed at the man. "That is my younger brother. But he was not always my brother, you know. At one point, he was my younger sister."

Pidge was a little surprised, but at the same time not.

They had figured out that Hunk had discovered their true sex by reading their diary as well as the photo they kept of them and Matt. When they had confronted him about it later and asked why he hadn't said anything, he had shrugged and said that it wasn't his secret to spill or really any of his business. But now Pidge understood a bit better. He wasn't sure if Pidge was trans or not, and didn't treat them differently. And, other than Shiro, was probably the most accepting of Pidge's gender-fluidity and making the switch from saying 'he' to 'she' to 'they' the easiest when they had made the request shortly after revealing her sex to the team.

"For a long time, he was in that in-between state, too, but he didn't want to be." Aunty Kalena explained. "But some people do want to be there. That is where they are most comfortable. You are one of them. And, you want to present yourself as such, am I right?"

Pidge nodded.

"Yeah." They said. "Because somedays, I want to look like a girl and dress like a girl and act like and be treated like a girl. But then I also want to look like a boy and dress and act like and be treated a boy. But then, other days, I don't want to be either. But I don't think it's possible to present that with a haircut alone, right?"

Aunty Kalena smiled.

"You said you needed magic." She said as she closed the album and put it away. "And I think I know exactly what you need. Will you trust me?"

Pidge nodded without hesitation.

"Of course." Pidge said.

"Then let's get started." Aunty Kalena said. "You only have about an hour or so until your meeting."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

"Anyone have any idea where Pidge is?" Lance asked as he tapped his foot.

"With my mom, apparently." Hunk said. "Pidge's mom said something about them wanting a haircut."

"Well, they need to hurry." Keith said. "Because we're supposed to be at the conference room in five minutes."

"Hey, hair is an art. Also, its magic when my mom does it." Hunk said. "There is no 'hurrying up'. It takes all the time it needs."

"Come on, Hunk, he has a mullet, you can't expect him to understand this." Lance said.

"Hey, you like my mullet." Keith said with a small pout.

"I like you, the mullet was just part of the deal." Lance said with a grin. "But, yeah, shouldn't we worry? If not about Pidge, about Hunk's mom? Because there's magic, then there's—"

"The infamous stubborn Holt hair." Shiro finished with a small smile. He remembered many mornings watching through half-lidded eyes as Matt tried to tame his hair to no avail.

"We should still worry, because we will be a Paladin short." Allura said with a frown.

"Hey guys!"

Everyone turned as Pidge turned the corner, running up to them.

At least, they all assumed it was Pidge.

It was Pidge-height. It was Pidge-shaped. It was in green armor with a green bayard hanging at their side. It had Pidge's eyes and glasses.

But there was also an almost sparkle that surrounded them. Or, more accurately, their hair.

"Oh my gosh, you look so good!" Hunk said with a huge grin.

"I know! I absolutely love it!" Pidge said with a grin of their own, reaching up tentatively to their new, shorter hair. "I swear, Hunk, your mom must have gone to Hogwarts or something."

Pidge was now sporting a pixie cut, the short hair curling this way and that, with their hair parted to the right, and some of it pinned back with two crossed bobby pins, each with a white star on them.

"Like, right now, I look like a girl, but if I take out the pins and change the part and arrange my bangs right, I look like a boy, and then I could put the part down the middle and ruffle it a bit, I'll totally make people have to guess!" Pidge said excitedly.

"You need a flower crown. Like, stat." Lance declared with a grin. "Start without me, I've got to remedy this now otherwise it will be a crime against humanity and every other species there is in this universe!"

"You are not going anywhere." Allura said, grabbing Lance as he tried to run past. "But I do not disagree. That would look rather nice… You look absolutely lovely right now, Pidge, and we cannot wait to see the other ways of styling your hair that you have mentioned. But we need to go to the conference room now if we do not want to be late."

Pidge nodded and they and the other Paladins quickly fell into "Voltron Formation" beside Shiro, who walked behind Allura and Coran. Keith was at Shiro's right side with Lance at Keith's right side, while Pidge stood on Shiro's left side with Hunk beside them. Pidge saw Keith stretch his fingertips out almost invitingly at his side and Lance hesitate before grabbing them quickly, squeezing, and letting go again. They could only see this small hidden gesture, not either of their faces.

Pidge was a little surprised at the gesture, and wondered why they were surprised. Then, they realized why. It was because they had become so used to Keith and Lance almost hanging off each other lately. Sure, there were the small little touches like that, linking pinkies or something similar. It wasn't like they were constantly clinging to each other, but they had all gotten used to the physical affection the two shared frequently.

They had seen very little of that physical affection since the two had come back from Keith's shack the night before.

That was definitely odd.

"Your hair does really look nice, by the way." Shiro said in a low voice as he gave Pidge a smile, shaking them out of their thoughts. "It really suits you."

Pidge blushed some and smiled shyly.

"Thanks." They said, reaching up to tuck a strand behind their ear.

"So, for future reference, will how you wear your hair mean you want us to use different pronouns?" Shiro asked.

"Oh, huh. I hadn't thought about the pronouns, actually." Pidge said, tilting their head some. "Um… 'They' is still cool regardless. But… Um, can I think on that question?"

"Of course." Shiro said with a grin, reaching to put his hand on their shoulder.

"Thanks." Pidge said.

"Are we ready?" Allura asked, turning around to study her Paladins briefly, looking both nervous and excited. They all nodded.

"Alright." Allura said, taking a deep breath. "Then let's form some alliances."

"Hard to believe at one point we thought forming Voltron was the hard part of this job." Lance said as followed Allura.

The meeting was actually pretty short and to the point; all of the world leaders were eager to sign a treaty with the Alteans and Team Voltron, welcoming Earth as the next planet in the Voltron Alliance. Pidge was pretty sure that this was as close to world peace as they could get.

It was also agreed upon that the Galaxy Garrison's board of directors were going to take a little more control than before over the Garrison, and new measures would be taken for when and if the Galra returned, asking for two days to create agreed upon procedures before running them through Allura and Shiro. The two agreed, but said that they would leave the day after regardless of whether or not they approved of all of the procedures. The team needed to get back to space as soon as possible.

Pidge also felt very pleased with their mother when the entire board of directors begged them to convince their mother to drop the court cases. They promised they'd think about it; a look from Shiro made them amend the promise to try to convince Mrs. Holt to stop destroying every single Garrison lawyer within five minutes of entering the court room, but could not make any promises as to whether or not anything would come of it. A compromise was reached later that afternoon, which resulted in every little piece of information concerning the Kerberos mission being declassified and available to the public, in addition to a formal apology.

The Team spent the most of the afternoon at the Castle of the Lions, with Allura giving a tour of the Castle to the Paladins families while the Paladins themselves went to tend to their Lions and to make sure that the Lions were prepared to meet the Paladins' families.

Pidge was starting to wish for a second pair of hands again when they heard the door to Green's hanger open.

"Hey, Pidge!" Keith called out.

"Hey Keith!" Pidge called back, glancing over their shoulder. "Hey, can you bring up that socket wrench for me?"

"Sure." Keith said, finding the tool then scaling Green. "I finished patching up Red, and wanted to see if you needed some help. I knew Green was in pretty bad shape yesterday. How's she doing now?"

"Much better." Pidge said, and Green gave a purr of agreement beneath their feet. "And, thanks, I need a second pair of hands to get these dents out, if you don't mind."

"No problem." Keith said, grabbing tools.

Pidge hesitated and watched Keith work for a moment, then said,

"Hey, Keith? Is everything okay? Between you and Lance?"

Keith paused and looked up.

"Everything's fine." He said. "Why?"

"Well, it's just… I guess I've gotten so used to you two being on each other all the time, and so I kind of noticed that you're, well, not. At the moment. So, I wanted to make sure you weren't having a fight or anything."

"Oh. No. We're good." Keith said, blushing some. "Everything's good. It's just… Well… Okay, I should probably tell you this, and the others, before something slips. Probably should have done that yesterday but… Lance's family doesn't know he's bisexual. So he didn't want to introduce me as his boyfriend yet. So everything's still good, we're just… Well, not taking a break but rather we're keeping things on the down-low for a while. At least until we're back in space."

"Oh. Okay." Pidge said. "And… You're okay with this?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I dunno. I guess I just wanted to make sure your feelings are taken into consideration."

"Lance already did," Keith said. "We talked about it before, and he gave me his reasons. He didn't want to give his parents too many surprises, and he was a little worried about me. He knows that his family is loud and there's a lot of them, and he knows I'm not really that good with that. So he thought it'd be a good introduction to them and then I'd be more prepared when we say we're dating."

"Well, I'm glad that you two have that kind of understanding." Pidge said. "But, honestly I'm surprised that Lance isn't out. I mean, as long as I've known him, he hasn't hidden it. He's always so open about himself and just so… Lance. But, I guess at the same time, I understand. Not wanting to come out, I mean."

Pidge suddenly became very focused on the wiring, trying hard to swallow their tears.

"Pidge? You okay?" Keith asked, looking up to see Pidge wiping at their eyes.

"Yeah, it's just… I told Matt everything, you know? He was my best friend and confidant and big brother. And, for months I kind of struggled with trying to figure out if I really, truly felt like a girl and was a girl and why somedays I didn't feel like it. I started researching and terms like non-binary and gender-fluid kept showing up and kind of served as confirmation, but I wanted, needed someone to talk to it about. I could have gone to Matt and talked with him. Could have told him how I felt and asked what he thought. And once the Kerberos mission was announced, I had to decide if I was going to tell him and when I was going to tell him. And I chickened out. I told my mom when I told her how I planned to get into the Garrison, because I couldn't do that again, not tell the people who matter the most to me how I felt. And she was so supportive and helpful, not only with sneaking in to the Garrison, but accepting that I'm non-binary and switching to gender-neutral pronouns and terms of endearment and stuff. But… I still regret that I didn't talk with her sooner about it, or with my dad and especially Matt. So, even though I'm really happy as I am, I feel a little bit of guilt about it, because I didn't tell Matt before he disappeared. And some part of me kind of holds me back; that I can't really be myself or don't deserve to be myself until he's back."

To Pidge's surprise, Keith reached out and put a hand on their shoulder. Pidge looked up to see Keith's dark eyes staring at them.

"I know exactly what you mean." Keith admitted. "And you shouldn't think that way. Matt wouldn't want you to think that way, to act that way. He'd want you to be happy with who you are. He wouldn't want you to feel guilty over this. So don't. I know you won't really be happy till we find your family, but, do your dad and Matt a favor and find a little happiness in your life. And if that happiness is just being comfortable in your own skin, so be it."

Pidge nodded, sniffling some and rubbed their eye.

"Thanks, Keith." They said, smiling at him. "When did you get to be so good at these pep talks? Or, wait, is that the real criteria for piloting the Black Lion? Or is it just a side-effect of having been in that pilots' seat?"

"Shiro probably rubbed off on me, I don't think so, and maybe. I'm not really interesting in finding out a definite answer. One time was one too many." Keith said with a small shudder.

The team had discovered that, in the event of an emergency—namely Shiro in a healing pod and the Castle under attack and they really needed Voltron—the Black Lion would let Keith pilot her, Lance was pretty good at flying the Red Lion, and Allura could pilot any of the Lions.

Though they all did their best after that to avoid any more emergencies that involved a game of Musical Lions.

Pidge nodded, but then thought of something.

"Hey, Keith? What did you mean when you said you knew what I meant?" Pidge asked. "That pep talk, it sounded like you got it mostly through personal experience."

Keith hesitated, then said,

"Okay, I haven't told anyone any of what I'm about to tell you, so you have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Paladins' honor." Pidge said with a nod. "With Green as my witness."

Keith nodded, then said,

"When I realized that I'm gay… It wasn't really a big deal. I just figured it out and I thought that was that. I didn't have anyone to come out to, either, to worry about their reaction or whatever. I mean, I didn't really announce it to the whole world, but at the same time it didn't matter. I don't even really think I was 'in the closet' or anything. And I wasn't afraid to tell the few people I was close to. Shiro, Tali, your brother. They were my friends. I trusted them and respected them enough to tell them. But… Before Shiro left, there was something else I wanted to tell him. And I thought I'd never be able to. And I still haven't. Maybe I will someday, even though nothing will come of it."

"What do you mean?" Pidge asked.

Keith took a deep breath and said, "Part of how I realized I was gay was because I had this huge massive crush on Shiro."

Pidge stared at him in disbelief.

"Shiro? You had a crush on Shiro?" They repeated. Keith nodded. "Then… You and Lance? How did that happen?"

"I'm still not sure." Keith admitted. "I guess… Once I found out what my father was, what I am, I thought you all wouldn't have anything to do with me. So I freaked out and in the process became purple and covered with fur, which freaked me out even more. I was horrified that I was like our enemy, but also terrified that I was going to upset Shiro while looking like a Galra. That I was going to make him suffer one of his PTSD flashbacks or that he'd be scared of me and that I'd lose the only person I had after having finally gotten him back in my life. Or, the only person I thought I had. You all spent so much time trying to convince me that you all still trusted me, but I wasn't really trusting any of you. And then Lance comes in and he just pours his heart out, telling me about all of his family members and the stupid stunts he and his siblings pulled as kids and what he misses here on Earth. And he did it not because he needed to talk, and not to entertain me or make me feel better, but to show me that he trusted me enough to tell me all of these things, to show me his heart and feelings and everything, and that I could trust him to listen to me. That I could bare my soul to him and he'd protect it. Take care of it. It wasn't in the romantic sense at the time. It developed into that later. But at that time, I could—and still do—trust him."

"So basically you realized that Lance was kind of cute when he wasn't making a fool of himself trying to show off?" Pidge said with a small smile.

"Yeah, well, there's that." Keith said, smirking some. "But… I did a lot of grieving and regretting and wishing when Shiro was declared dead. And I kind of thought I had a second chance at it all when he came back. But I don't think he'll ever see me other than as a younger brother. And I realized I was okay with that, because I needed that. I needed what he was trying to give me: a mentor, a brother, a friend… I think it was probably because I hadn't had someone who had stuck around me for so long, who wanted to be around me, who had been so genuinely kind to me for so long, that I think I misinterpreted his love for me."

"And, you know, Shiro's hot." Pidge said.

Keith laughed.

"Oh yeah, that helped a whole heck of a lot. But I don't regret having a crush on him, though, or really feel embarrassed by it, because it helped me figure out who I am, and I better appreciate all that he's done for me and the relationship that we have now. And the relationships I have with the rest of the team as well. You and Hunk and the Princess and Coran… Lance… Not to mention the friendship I have with Tali that I should have made stronger instead of abandoning. And besides," Keith added as he popped out a dent with a grunt. "I'm now pretty sure Shiro likes someone else."

Pidge swallowed hard, biting their lip.

"Oh." They managed to get out, cursing that it was a rather pathetic sound they had uttered.

To their surprise, Keith chuckled.

"You know I'm talking about you, right?" He said, smirking some.

Pidge felt their face heat and their eyes widen.

"Nope." They said, backing away some. "Nope nope nope nope nope. There is no way Shiro can like me that way."

"Are you not into guys?" Keith asked, arching a brow.

"I am. Well, yeah, I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm pansexual so, yes, I am into boys, but also girls, and also people like me. I mean, I don't go around flirting with everything with a pulse and two legs like Lance does—did—but still, I don't—" Pidge rambled, stuttering and mumbling.

"So why can't Shiro like you in that way?" Keith asked.

"Because he's doesn't!" Pidge said, cheeks still heated and realizing that they were practically squeaking like the mice. "He… He just doesn't!"

"You sure?" Keith asked, arching an eyebrow, all of the humor suddenly gone from his face. "Because Shiro basically went to pieces yesterday when you crashed and it was like ten times worse than a flashback episode for him. He screamed your name and then went completely silent. Black had to take over on her own to prevent him from getting seriously hurt. And he's always looking out for you and—"

"He doesn't and won't ever like me in a romantic sense because I'm Commander Holt's daughter and Matt's little sister!" Pidge said angrily, cutting him off. "I'm the daughter of his mission leader and the sister of his best friend. He's probably just trying to make sure he doesn't lose another one of us Holts to the Galra. Shiro wants to find my dad and Matt just as much as I do. And on top of that, I'm small. The smallest member of this team, mice excluded. I'm physically weaker than the rest of you, and I am, biologically, a girl. Shinji was right, I'm also the least trained for space. Shiro probably thinks that all those factors mean that I need protecting. You all do, really."

"Pidge, none of us think you need protecting because of your sex, or your size, least of all Shiro." Keith said firmly. "We protect you because you're our teammate. We look out for each other. And I can name more than a few times you've saved all of our butts. We wouldn't be here right now if you hadn't freed the Castle—pretty much on your own—from Sendak."

"Yeah, well, do me a favor and stop trying to make me think I actually stand a chance with Shiro!" Pidge snapped, jumping to their feet.

Their voice echoed off the hanger walls as Keith stared up at them.

"Ah." He said with a nod. "You've got a crush on Shiro, too."

Pidge clenched their jaw, taking deep breaths before saying,

"Keith, do you realize just how big of a cliché it is to be in love with your brother's best friend? I crushed, and I crushed hard. And then you know what happens? I lose everything. Lose my father, my brother and the guy I had convinced my nerdy little thirteen year old self I was in love with. And that there'd be no way he'd ever, ever like me. I mean, the first time I met him, I was eight and in full Disney princess regalia for crying out loud! The last time I had seen him before Kerberos, he was pretty much a full-blown adult going on a mission that would probably change the whole entire world and I was just a stupid middle school girl whose bedroom walls were covered with posters of British boy bands and Hello Kitty stickers!"

Pidge huffed some, trying to regain their breath as Keith stared at them.

"That was all then." He said. "So what's now?"

"Now… Now…" Pidge took another deep breath and sat back down, absently running their hand over Green's paneling. "Yeah. Still crushing. But it's different. I don't want to be the cliché protagonist of a teen novel who has this huge mission and goals that must be achieved or the whole world is doomed, but still spends most of the time flirting and having make-out sessions with some hot love interest. I have two goals: be part of Team Voltron to take down Zarkon, and find Dad and Matt and bring them home. That is all I can focus on right now. And Shiro's the Team leader, Head of Voltron. He's got to focus on that, and he's got enough to deal with as is between that and his PTSD and all that. So, even if you're right, even if he does like me in the same way Lance likes you, neither of us can or should act on it. It's just… It can't be good for either of us right now."

Keith frowned but nodded.

"I get it." He said. "I do, I really do. I'm sorry, that I upset you."

"No, I… I let myself get upset. And I shouldn't have." Pidge said. "But, even if it was a lot of ranting and raving, thanks for listening. To everything I've kept so much bottled up and it felt good to finally let some of it go. And thanks for sharing."

"You're welcome. I've been keeping a lot of stuff inside, too. Feels good to let it out. So thanks for listening." Keith said with a nod. They were both quiet for a second, absorbed in the work, then Keith spoke again, "Pidge, I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"That depends on what it is." Pidge said, glancing over at the dark-haired teen with a frown.

"I have this tablet computer. Well, more specifically, it was my mom's. Supposedly, it's got all her research on it. It's passcode protected, and I've tried every combination I can think of to no luck. I was hoping you'd be willing to give it a shot."

"Yeah, no problem." Pidge said. "I'll take a shot at it. Even if I can't figure out the passcode, I should be able to find a way to override it without damaging the hard drive or the data. How soon do you want me to do that?"

"It can wait a few days. I mean, it's waited ten years, another couple of days isn't going to change anything." Keith said. "And, thanks."

They were both quiet again, working, and then Keith said,

"So… full Disney princess regalia, huh? Crown and everything?"

"Quiznak it, Keith, don't you dare start." Pidge groaned, glaring at him as he grinned.

"Come on, now I'm curious. At least tell me which princess it was."

"Nope. Not going to happen. Never."

"I promise I won't tell Lance!"

"Won't tell Lance what?"

Keith and Pidge both went over to Green's side and looked down at Lance, who waved up at them as he entered the hanger.

"Don't worry, it's not important." Pidge said. "Is Allura's tour almost done?"

"Just about." Lance said, scaling up Green to join them. "How's Red, Keith?"

"She's fine. I think she's eager for us to get going again. She doesn't like to go for too long without destroying something of Zarkon's." Keith said. "And Blue?"

"About the same." Lance said, settling onto the hull between Pidge and Keith. "So, guess what? My mom told me that while we were in our meeting earlier, Bella told my parents that she wanted to do her First Communion sooner rather than later. She was supposed to do it with the rest of her class later this year, but she wanted to do it while we're still on Earth, and the priests gave an okay for it. So you're all going to meet the rest of _mi familia_ while we're here. I'm including you, Pidge, because I'm going to drag you all to Mass with me."

"Lance, you are the only one of our team who's Catholic." Pidge pointed out. "The rest of us will just sit there the entire time completely lost."

"That doesn't mean you can't come." Lance said. "Anyways, it's going to be the day after tomorrow, in Florida, since we'll be leaving the day after." Then, suddenly, he blinked, as he realized what he said. "Two and a half more days on Earth. It's weird to think of it like that. I mean, we didn't know we were leaving last time. But we also don't know when we'll be back."

"We'll come back more," Keith said. "There's no way any of us are going to live on food goo alone until the rare time we find a planet with edible food again. And Coran says that the Castle is equipped to carry as much fruits and vegetables and that sort of thing and keep it fresh for months. If the dishes Hunk makes up on the spot with weird alien produce are so fantastic, I can't wait to see what he can do with Earth food."

"Oh, Keith, buddy, I cannot tell you how hashtag-blessed you will be with Hunk's mad skills." Lance said, grinning. "We seriously need to make a list of stuff to get to stock the kitchen."

"Well, someone did promise Allura a trip to the mall, so it sounds like we have a lot of shopping to do." Pidge said. "I know I need clothes. I don't know how much I have at home that still fits. Apparently, sometime between enrolling at the Garrison and now, I grew a few inches."

"Would never have known it." Lance said. "But I wouldn't mind a new pair of sneakers or two. Mine are pretty ratty and smell kind of rank after months of walking around on weird planets. Oh, and I'm definitely getting some soccer balls. I want to see how many planets I can spread the beautiful game to."

"Games? What kind of games are we talking about?" Hunk asked as his head popped up over the side of Green.

" _Fútbol_!" Lance exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air excitedly.

"Well, we need other kind of games, because I don't think we need to be playing soccer in the Castle." Shiro said from the ground, gently putting a hand on Green's muzzle, which made her purr.

"Oh come on, Shiro, you don't think it'd be fun to add a soccer ball into the mix on the training deck?" Pidge asked, swinging their legs over the side of Green to grin at him. "It'd be an interesting addition to the invisible maze."

"Yeah, no. We can barely get through the invisible maze alone on a good day." Shiro said, grinning up at Pidge with his arms folded over his chest.

"So, can we get board games and card games and that sort of thing?" Lance asked, getting on his stomach to poke his head over the edge to look down at Shiro. "Because nothing says 'bonding' like family game night!"

"And legally acquired movies?" Hunk suggested.

"Yes to both." Shiro said.

"I think my mom would be okay if we raided our DVD collection to take to space." Pidge said.

"I am going to bring pretty much every book I own." Hunk said excitedly.

"Ditto with my music." Lance said.

"And bring your own darn headphones this time!" Pidge said, reaching over to playfully poke Lance in the side of the head.

Keith came and sat down beside Pidge, briefly putting a hand on their shoulder as he said,

"I hope Zarkon's enjoyed this break as much as we have. Because he is not going to know what hit him."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven:

"Hello and welcome back to Voltron Watch! Your ultimate authority on all things Voltron!" Lani said, grinning at the camera on her phone. "I hope you all are getting used to seeing me and Tali in the same location in these videos, because it's going to be happening a lot more often now! This is also a very special update, because it will be one of the last Tali and I do on Earth for a while!"

"Lani and I, along with Shinji Shirogane, are accompanying Team Voltron into space onboard the Castle of the Lions." Tali said. "We'll be documenting the fight against the Galra Empire and sending regular updates on our Paladins to our viewers here on Earth. So stay tuned and be on the lookout for updates and exclusive interviews with the Paladins of Voltron."

"Until next time, when we meet amongst the stars!" Lani said, flashing a peace sign at the camera before ending the video.

"When we meet amongst the stars?" Tali said, arching a brow at Lani. "What's up with that?"

"Oh come, we needed a new outro." Lani said. "It's cute."

"It's a little cheesy." Tali said.

"It's catchy." Lani said with a pout.

"We need to introduce you to 'When I say Vol, you say Tron'," Hunk said as he approached the two. "That's one of Lance's that finally caught on."

"Finally?" Lani questioned.

"It took Keith a while." Hunk said. "Long story. Anyways, you two ready to go? It's time for the last 'see you laters'."

"It's now or never, isn't it?" Tali said with a sigh. "I'll be right there."

There were final hugs and kisses exchanged, hair ruffles, lots and lots of tears, promises to Skype and e-mail and keep in touch.

And, finally, Team Voltron with their three new crew members boarded the Castle of the Lions.

Pidge slid into their seat, the holographic computer panels coming to life before their eyes. The whole ship began to come alive and hum beneath Allura's fingertips.

"Initializing launch." Allura said.

"On to the next exciting adventure." Shiro said.

"Space. The final frontier. To boldly go where no man, woman or non-binary gender-fluid person has gone before." Hunk said with a grin.

And the Castle lifted into the air, into the atmosphere, past the moon, past the space stations, past Kerberos where the story began.

"And like Alice, we go down the rabbit-hole." Lani breathed as her eyes widened, watching the large, multicolored swirl open up before them.

"Technically a wormhole, but close enough." Lance commented as Allura guided the Castle through.

"Initializing scanners for distress signals." Coran said, pressing some buttons.

"Do you have a particular destination in mind?" Tali asked.

"Not usually. We're slowly starting to gain a reputation, so we're picking up on more and more distress signals as the news of Voltron spreads." Shiro explained, rising from his seat. "Then we do our best to help those calling for help first, and then we try and make alliances on planets that haven't been invaded by the Galra and evaluate which planets to liberate."

"What do you usually do while the scanners run, then?" Shinji asked.

"That's usually when we do any repairs or maintenance work on the Lions or the Castle that is needed, or analyze data, or research the planets we're going to." Shiro said. "But, most of the time, we hit the training deck. Which is where we are headed now."

Lance, Hunk and Pidge all simultaneously groaned. As usual, Keith was the only one who looked remotely excited about the prospect of hours sparring with gladiators and other training devices.

"Aw, come on, Shiro…" Lance whined, pouting and employing the use of sad puppy eyes. "One more day? Please? Pretty please?"

"Nope. The puppy eyes are not going to work this time. We've already gone nearly a week without the training deck." Shiro said

Keith playfully bumped his shoulder against Lance's.

"What? You afraid I'll kick your butt for the millionth time?" He said with a grin.

"Psh, please. If anyone should be afraid of getting their butt kicked on the training deck, it's you." Lance retorted with a smirk.

"Can I record you guys training?" Lani asked, eyes going wide with excitement.

"Yeah, as long as you promise to not show the entire internet us getting beat up by the gladiators when they're apparently set at a level that an Altean child can defeat." Pidge said.

"No problem, I figured any videos we make in space are going to require a lot of editing." Lani said. "Very few live-streams. But that does bring forth something I've been meaning to ask: are there any lines that need to be drawn when it comes to what's in the videos and what's not? I mean, if we do Q and A sessions for a video, I'd give you all a list of the questions in advance, but do you not want us to film battles or the diplomatic stuff or anything like that?"

The Paladins and two Alteans shared a glance.

"Yeah, we've got a few things." Hunk said.

"But it's all things that, while you're on board, you should probably know." Shiro said.

Lani pulled out a small notebook and pink glitter pen while Tali and Shinji looked a bit concerned.

"Alright," Lani said, pen poised and waiting. "What should we know and our viewers shouldn't?"

"Keith and I are dating." Lance said bluntly, wrapping an arm around Keith's shoulders as he turned red from the sudden announcement.

"What?" Tali, Shinji and Lani said at the same time, Lani with much more exuberance than the other two.

"Yeah, but I haven't come out to my family as bisexual yet, so Keith's been awesome and letting us keep our relationship a secret from them until I get a chance to tell them." Lance said.

"Why do you tell me nothing, Kwan?" Tali demanded in an irritated tone of voice, but a smile on her face. "Congrats."

"How long have you been together?" Lani asked.

"Only a couple of weeks," Keith said. "But, well, we inadvertently started dating because of another thing you all should know, and it's about me. I'm apparently half-Galra."

This was met with silence.

"But you look like a normal human." Lani said, tilting her head some and studying Keith.

"Yeah, until he gets really mad and does the purple furry version of going 'Incredible Hulk' on us." Hunk said.

"But the ears make it really hard to take him seriously when he 'goes Galra'," Lance said. "They are so cute. And fluffy."

"And you're a weirdo." Keith snapped, elbowing Lance lightly in the side.

"I'm your weirdo." Lance retorted, pressing a kiss to Keith's forehead while the shorter teen rolled his eyes.

"Wait, does this mean that this wasn't the first time Zarkon's sent Galra to Earth?" Tali asked.

"We do not know the whole story, but I imagine if Zarkon did send Galra troops with the intention to invade Earth eighteen years ago, the planet would be conquered and we would not be having this discussion." Allura said.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Shinji asked, his eyes narrowed as he studied Keith.

"We know we can because we do." Pidge snapped irritably. "He's our friend and a Paladin of Voltron."

"Yeah, and apparently half of the same species that's hell bent on destroying the universe and was largely succeeding up until now." Shinji pointed out.

"And if we automatically assume that every Galra is born evil and cruel and capable of nothing but, then we're no better than they are." Shiro said.

"Other than Keith, have you actually met a Galra who isn't necessarily supporting Zarkon?" Shinji asked.

"Well, not yet." Shiro admitted.

"So how do you know they exist?" Shinji pressed, arching an eyebrow.

Pidge felt their hands clench when Keith reached over and put a hand on their shoulder. To Pidge's surprise, he looked pretty calm.

"Look, I know there's going to be some doubts, especially when I'm in Galra form. But Red was held by the Galra for who knows how long, and she still trusted me enough to choose me as her Paladin." Keith said. He grinned. "And Red has a lot of plans to make Zarkon and all his cronies her personal chew toys."

"I would venture a guess that the Galra half of you did persuade the Red Lion to choose you, Keith." Coran said.

"What, seriously?" Hunk said as they all turned to Coran, who had his back to them, working at the control panels.

"But, why?" Keith asked.

"The Red Lion's Original Paladin was a Galra as well. No one was too surprised when the Red Lion chose her, once it was known what the Red Lion values in a Paladin." Coran said. "The best of the Galra soldiers were not only very skilled, but heavily rely on their own instincts; they are difficult to keep in line for it."

"So there was another Galra Paladin other than… Black's?" Lance asked, biting his lip some.

None of the current Paladins felt at all comfortable with the idea that Zarkon once held the same position as Shiro, once shared the same bond with the Original Paladins that their team shared. So while they knew they had to acknowledge that Black's first pilot was a tyrannical dictator and that he was Galra, no one ever associated Black's Original Paladin with Zarkon out-loud.

"Yes. But the other three were Alteans." Allura said with a small smile. "My father was the Original Yellow Paladin."

"I thought your dad just created the Lions." Pidge said, brow furrowing as they looked at Allura.

"No one created the Lions. Well, their souls anyway." Coran said, turning around at last. "Their bodies, their armor and weapons… It was a fusion of Altean Life Force energy and Galran magic. But the Lions weren't the only collaboration. For example, your suits of armor are Altean made."

"Oh, that explains a lot." Hunk said, realizing that the Alteans shape-shifting abilities would require clothing that accommodated those powers. Similarly, the suits of armor adapted to each of the new Paladins and their differing heights and body types.

Coran nodded before continuing,

"But your bayards, to contrast, are Galra made."

"I never realized that the Alteans and Galra were so close before Zarkon took over." Shiro said, while the other four Paladins quickly brought their bayards to hand, staring at them with wide eyes.

"They weren't. Not for eons." Coran said, turning back around to the controls. The sadness in his voice was rather evident. "The Lions, Voltron and the Paladins were to be a symbol of peace throughout the galaxy. A celebration of the truce between Altea and Galra. To bring together two rival cultures, and bond them together forever. Now, unless any of you have anything else to add to Miss Lani's list in this very moment, I suggest you hit the ol' training deck. Never know when we'll pick up a signal, and you don't want to be rusty when we do."

The Paladins nodded.

"I'll oversee the control room, and start the set up process." Allura said. She smiled at Lani. "You'll be able to get the best footage—and be in a much safer position—from there."

"We'll get our helmets and meet you there in a few ticks." Shiro said.

"What's a tick?" Tali asked as she followed Allura and Lani out of the room.

"A time slice just a bit longer than a second, from what we have determined following multiple experiments." Allura said

"So, then are minutes longer? How many ticks in a minute? Do you have minutes? How about hours? How does it work?" Lani asked, her voice and questions echoing down the halls as the three women walked further away. Shinji disappeared after them, but turned down a different hallway, going who knows where.

Pidge glanced at the other Paladins, then at Coran. They were glad to see that they all seemed to share the same questions for the man Lance had once affectionately described as their 'wacky space uncle'.

"The Original Red Paladin…" Keith said in a low voice. "What was her name?"

"Ryla." Coran answered. "Affectionately referred to as 'Ry' by the Black, Yellow and Blue Paladins. Only the Green Paladin ever called her 'La-La' and lived to tell the tale. Well, the Green Paladin and Allura."

"Why don't we talk more about the Original Paladins?" Shiro asked. "You talk about them collectively as a team, but you and Allura have never talked about them individually. We understand why we don't discuss… Black's first pilot… But the others? We didn't even know Alfor was a Paladin until just now."

"Allura was young enough when their team broke apart that I doubt she has many memories of the Original Paladins when they were assembled. I doubt she saw Voltron ever assembled other than on a few special occasions before… before they could no longer do so." Coran said.

"What happened to them?" Pidge asked quietly. "What happened that broke them apart?"

"Yeah, if they had a bond like we do now… What happened?" Hunk asked.

"It's not important." Coran said. "What is important is your team now. Your mission, your bond."

"Yeah, but how do we make sure we don't make the same mistake they did?" Lance asked.

"You won't, Number Three. I know you won't." Coran said.

"Yeah, we've all got these really strong bonds with each other and the Lions now, but what will we do if—" Lance said, but Coran cut him off.

"I was not speaking of the team as a whole, Lance. I was talking about you specifically." Coran said, turning around to face the wide-eyed Paladins.

"You are all much better Paladins than the Original pilots. Have a much stronger bond with each other and with your Lions." He paused, then said, "I have—had—the utmost respect for the Original Paladins. With one exception. You, Lance, are thousands upon thousands of times better than the Original Blue Paladin. You will not make the same mistakes he did. I know it."

"Wait, are you saying that it was the Original Blue Paladin's fault that the first Team Voltron broke apart?" Lance asked.

"Each Paladin, each Lion, makes up a vital piece of Voltron. When one is weak, the others fall." Coran said. "The Blue Lion's original pilot… He learned this lesson the hard way. But you… You boys and Pidge will not. You're all made of much tougher stuff. Any time you find a weakness, you reinforce it, make it stronger. The Original Paladins did not know how to do that."

Coran turned back to the control panel again.

"Now get going or the Princess will start to worry." He said, dismissing them.

Silently, the Paladins left the room.

"What. The. Quiznak?" Hunk whispered as they walked. "What was all… that?"

"Coran really did not like the first Blue Paladin, from the sounds of it." Pidge said. "He basically pinned the entire blame on that guy. But, that can't be the entire story, right?"

"I doubt it." Shiro said with a frown.

"Yeah, but I don't think Coran's going to tell us the entire story. He really didn't seem to like our questions just now." Keith said.

"He answered them." Lance pointed out, his own voice flat and despondent.

"Yeah, but in a round-about way." Pidge said. "Which is also weird. Coran loves to tell us stories and every minute detail."

"Then we'll just ask Allura." Shiro said. "After we train."

The other Paladins agreed and followed to the training deck, all of them hoping that the physical exertion would serve as a distraction.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve:

The physical exertion did not serve as a distraction.

In fact, it only made things worse.

"Ugh, it's like we hit a reset button or something." Pidge complained as they ducked to dodge a bolt from the training bot before smacking it with their bayard. "We haven't had this many problems in a session since our very first one."

"Push through," Shiro said, voice firm as he brought up his shield to deflect a bolt. "We've only got another five minutes."

Hunk and Lance were back to back, Lance using his shield to cover Hunk as he used his bayard to take out the gladiators. However, everything came to an abrupt halt when Hunk let out a yelp, one of the bolts having gotten past Lance and clipped Hunk on the shoulder, making him lose his grip on the bayard, or, more accurately, the control of where the bolts went. This resulted in Keith having to quickly jump backwards to avoid getting hit on the leg with one of the bolts, and he toppled to the ground after having lost his balance between the sudden movement and the gladiator he was dueling.

Allura, in the control room, decided that enough was enough and quickly stopped the gladiators before one could bring its staff down on Keith.

"Hunk, you alright?" Lani yelled in concern, pushing Allura aside to get access to the microphone.

"Yeah," Hunk said, rubbing his shoulder while rotating it, grinning shyly up at the observation desk. "The training bots only sting a little. No harm, no foul."

"Yeah, but what if it wasn't!" Lance exclaimed. "What if it wasn't a training bot, what if it was a real bolt from a Galra drone? You would have been hurt, and by this point so would Keith and then we have our bond broken and it's all my fault and next thing you know we're all dead!"

"Whoa, Lance, chill." Keith said as he accepted Shiro's hand to get up off the floor.

"Yeah, man, that kind of talk is my job." Hunk said, frowning as he studied his friend. "Dude, what's wrong?"

Lance didn't say anything, looking away with a look that was a mixture of irritation, fear and sadness.

"I think this is why we don't talk about the Original Paladins." Shiro said with a sigh before crossing over to Lance, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Lance, if you're always worrying about what could go wrong—"

"You could miss out on a chance to do something great." Lance finished. "I know. You've issued that Commander Holt quote a couple dozen times now. And you're already too much of a dad to be quoting Pidge's father all the time, you know."

"But both Shiro and my dad are right." Pidge pointed out. "You can't worry like that, Lance. You heard Coran, it'd take something really big to split up our bond. And a couple of flesh wounds are easy enough to heal. So we get a few battle scars, what's the big deal?"

"That's easy for you to say." Lance said, arms folded over his chest, his blue eyes hard. "It wasn't your predecessor who screwed everything up and resulted in us being where we are now."

"Lance, despite what Coran implied, I highly doubt the entire blame was and should be placed on the first Blue Paladin." Allura said as she strode into the room, Lani, Tali and Shinji behind her.

"You weren't there, Allura." Lance said.

"No, but I do know what happened after I left the command room." Allura said.

"Wait, how?" Tali asked. "Because I'm lost, and have been with you this whole time."

"Do you know everything that goes on in the Castle because its tied to your life force?" Lani asked, eyes wide. "Like, can see into every room and hear everything?"

"No, she knows because her pet mice are little gossips." Pidge said, gesturing to the mice on Allura's shoulders, who all suddenly looked bashful.

"Well, yes." Allura admitted, reaching up to gently pet the smallest mouse on the head. "But I also know that there was much more to the story than what Coran told you. However, I do not know all of it."

Allura clasped her hands in front of her and said,

"Though I did not know it at the time, the Original Paladins of Voltron broke apart when I was a small child. I do not know all of the details, but it began when a Paladin died."

"Ryla, the Red Paladin?" Pidge inquired.

"No." Allura said, shaking her head. "It actually was the Green Paladin, Pidge, your predecessor."

"But, if they had a bond, and that bond was supposed to protect the Paladins, how did the Green Lion's first pilot die?" Shinji asked.

"That I don't know." Allura said. "As far as I can tell, no one is sure when their bond began to break or for what reason. Nothing appeared to be amiss."

"Until someone was dead." Lance said with a scowl.

Allura nodded sadly.

"And… And the first Black Paladin shouldered the blame. He abandoned the Castle and the Black Lion in a self-exile." She said.

"But He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named took his bayard with him on his exile?" Pidge said with a frown. "Why?"

"From what I understand, he said it was to be his reminder." Allura said.

"Good to know we're a bayard short because You-Know-Who wanted a souvenir." Keith said.

"Guess key-chains and a 'I was a Paladin of Voltron and all I got was this lousy t-shirt' shirt were too mainstream even ten thousand years ago." Lance said.

"Wait, Lord Voldemort was the Original Black Paladin!" Lani said, looking confused.

"No, well… no. But horcruxes would make a lot of sense…" Hunk said. "Uh, third thing to add to your list of 'not safe for blog' topics? Original Black Paladin."

"Why?" Shinji asked. "What did he do?"

"He kind of leads the Empire we're fighting against." Keith said.

"Wait, so let me get this straight." Tali said. "Zarkon was once Black Paladin, now evil emperor, and then held Shiro captive for a year only for Shiro to become the Black Paladin within, like, two days of being free of Zarkon in order to take him and his empire down?"

"Yeah, we know it's weird. We try hard not to bring it up because that makes it even weirder. So, it's mostly just general FYI." Pidge said. "Sorry, Allura. Continue."

Allura nodded and said,

"As for the Blue Paladin, he seemed to have disappeared. I was told he never left Altea, never in a similar exile. Rather, he resigned. Thus leaving only my father and Ryla as the only surviving and remaining Paladins. They searched for new pilots, to no avail. At that time, tensions began to become strained between Altea and the Galra. Zarkon had taken over for his father as Emperor for several years before then without problem and then… There was… issues."

"Let me guess, the Galra Empire started getting a little bit bigger every day." Tali said with a frown. Allura nodded.

"Zarkon violated the peace treaty and the terms the Galra Empire agreed to." Allura said. "And… And my father scattered the Lions. And Altea was destroyed."

"Because the bond broke, there was no peace." Hunk said.

Allura nodded again.

"I'm afraid that is all I know. I am only now just learning much more myself through research." She admitted. She smiled sadly. "I am starting to believe that I was spared many of the details as a child and adolescent, and I can only hope that there were intentions to fully explain those missing pieces when I grew old enough to fully understand the chain of events."

"So you really have no idea what could have broken that bond all those years ago?" Lance asked.

"I'm sorry, Lance, but I do not." Allura said. "But Voltron is piloted by a team. The bond is shared by a team. Whatever happened was not the Blue Paladin's fault alone. I… I know now that my father himself must have had some role in this as well. I believe that is why he never attempted to fight Zarkon, why there couldn't just be new pilots for the Lions. There needed to be a whole new team for the Lions. They could not simply add new Paladins into an already existing—though fractured—team and expect the same bond."

"Alright, fine. Maybe it'll be a group effort." Lance conceded, but didn't look at all placated.

"If the bond actually breaks, which won't happen if we keep strengthening it." Shiro said.

"So, more team bonding exercises then, huh?" Hunk said. "So that means we need more game and movie nights, right?"

"Definitely." Pidge said with a grin.

"I have a suggestion that might also be beneficial." Allura said. "Try to meld your minds with the Lions."

"You can do that?" Tali asked.

"Well, the emphasis is on the word 'try', but, I think in theory it will work." Allura said. "And the Lions were obviously with the Original Paladins for many years. Perhaps they have some insight into the Paladin bond, and what happened with the original pilots."

"It's not a bad idea." Shiro said. "Let's hit the showers, grab something to eat, and we'll meet up at the entry to the hangers in an hour's time."

The other four Paladins nodded and left to get cleaned up. Shiro began to follow them when Shinji grabbed hold of his arm, holding him back.

"Takashi, what are you going to do if this bond does break?" Shinji asked. "If this thing isn't as strong as it seems to be?"

"I don't know." Shiro admitted. "I doubt we'd be able to form Voltron, though."

Shinji thought about this carefully.

"And," He said. "What would you do if you couldn't form Voltron?"

"I'm not sure, and hopefully I'll never have to figure it out." Shiro said. He turned to stare at the door to the training deck. "Everything's going to be okay. Hopefully this mind-meld thing will calm everyone down a bit. Lance does have every right to be worried, and his concerns are legitimate. But I think we'll be okay."

With that, he gently patted Shinji on the shoulder and left the training room. Shinji watched his brother leave, then closed his eyes.

He had always known that he was the more pessimistic of the two. Takashi saw life as a glass half-full while he saw it as half-empty.

But Shinji was starting to wonder if that was going to come back and bite them all.

He was starting to wonder what would happen if Voltron couldn't be formed.

"Alright, who wants to go first?" Shiro asked, holding the mind-meld device.

"Me!" Hunk said, sticking his hand up in the air. "Yellow and I've already been talking about it through our bond and stuff, and she wants to see if it will work. And she says she wants to show Allura some things."

"Me?" Allura said, jolting some with surprise, her hand to her chest.

"Yeah, since your dad was Yellow's Original Pilot, I guess." Hunk said, fitting the device on his head.

"I bet we'll get all our answers just from Yellow." Lance said as Hunk sat cross-legged in front of Yellow. "I imagine if she was, like, human or something, she'd be pretty chatty."

"Oh, she is." Hunk said with a grin. He closed his eyes and Yellow bowed her head some, her gleaming yellow eyes brightening.

The other Paladins and the other spectators waited until…

"Oh!" Lani gasped, eyes going wide as holographic images began to appear in the middle of the space between Hunk and Yellow.

A much younger Alfor—without his beard and with much shorter hair, probably no older than the Altean equivalent of Hunk's current age—stood there in his Paladin armor laughing at something. Images of Alfor talking with leaders and peasants alike, slowly growing older, a little taller and more confident. They realized that they were seeing Alfor through Yellow's eyes, as she peered down as Alfor stood before her, looking incredibly tired but happy as he held a newborn baby in his arms.

"Yellow, I have a new friend for you." Alfor said. "This is my daughter, Allura."

Yellow watched as Allura grew, playing with Alfor in Yellow's hanger. Alfor looked so incredibly happy and full of life.

And then… He wasn't.

He was suddenly grief-stricken, curled up against Yellow as he cried, bringing his fist against Yellow's hull again and again, not trying to do real damage but needed an outlet of some sort for his grief.

"How can I live without her?" He asked Yellow. "How can I raise Allura without her?"

Yellow could do nothing but purr and keen, feeling the pain and loss her Paladin felt at losing his beloved wife.

Alfor, much older and lined than when Yellow first chose him, first bonded with him, came up quietly. She lowered her head, preparing to open her mouth for him to enter. But he put a hand on her muzzle and she stopped, allowing Alfor to press his forehead against her.

 _Come, Paladin, we need to fight._ She urged. _We need to defend. Protect._

"I cannot." Alfor said. "I… I cannot fight Zarkon. You and I are the only ones left… We cannot form Voltron. I've secured Black in her hanger. He won't touch her. But now… You need to go. Go and protect yourself. One day, a Paladin with a stronger heart than I have will come for you. Protect that Paladin as you have done for me."

Yellow made a keening noise. No, she wouldn't leave. He was her Paladin, her chosen. She loved him. She loved his daughter, loved his people, loved the entire universe. She would always fight for the things she loved and cared for, and she knew Alfor would too. She chose him for that reason.

And he knew that.

"You must. You have too. I cannot let Zarkon take everything from me. You, Allura and the other Lions are the only important things I have left. I will do what I must to protect the ones I love. Which is why this is going to be painful for us both." Alfor said. He closed his eyes, then took a step back, reopening his eyes as he stared at Yellow.

"I renounce myself as a Paladin of Voltron. I renounce myself as the Pilot of the Yellow Lion."

Yellow let out an agonized roar, tossing back her head as the bond broke while Alfor stood still and silent.

"I am sorry, my old friend." Alfor said. "Now go. Go and find a new Paladin."

Yellow let out another roar, then leaned forward, hot steam blowing back Alfor's hair and cape, but he did not flinch. He didn't even blink, just looked so remorseful as the Lion stared at him.

She was angry with him.

But she also couldn't be.

She then gently nosed him, hoping that he would still feel the love she tried to convey.

She hoped he knew that she forgave him.

And then, slowly, she turned and leapt out of the hanger.

The images disappeared, leaving Yellow's hanger in silence.

Allura hesitated, then crossed over to Yellow, putting her hand on the Lion.

"Why… Why did you want me to see this?" She asked.

"Because she wanted you to see your father as she knew him." Hunk said, pushing himself off the floor. "She knows you miss him. She does, too. She wants to share memories of him with you, with someone who loved him as much as she did. But she also wants you to know that—even if your dad didn't make the right decision ten thousand years ago—his heart was in the right place. That he cared about you and the Lions more than anything, so that when it came time to make a decision, he knew what he had to do was protect what he cared about. He'd already lost your mom, and several teammates. He lost hope. But he wasn't going to lose you or the Lions."

Allura swallowed her tears and leaned against Yellow, who purred comfortingly.

"He did what he had to do to give the Universe its best chance of survival." She whispered.

"And there was no Voltron to be formed." Keith said with a frown. He held out his hand towards Hunk. "Me and Red are going next."

They ducked across to Red's hanger and Keith positioned himself in the same way Hunk had with Yellow.

Red was more reluctant than Yellow was. She was a lot quieter. More temperamental. More stubborn. Just like her Paladin.

And Keith knew that. And so he didn't exactly press, but instead waited patiently for Red to open up. He sent her waves of gratitude when she did open up, the images appearing.

A young Galra female with long, pale purple hair tied in a braid. Her ears were large and pointed, but not as fluffy, the fur sleeker and shinier. She was slender and short, but Ryla quickly showed that her size did not matter as she took on other Galra soldiers several times her size in training. She was like wildfire, couldn't be tamed. She ran fast and she ran hard into battle, sword blazing, first into the fight.

But she also had a kind heart. Red watched the young Galra female playing with some small children and making them toys and games out of scrap pieces of whatever resources were available.

Ryla laughed as Red chastised her, Ryla sitting on Red's paw, small bandages covering her face and arms.

"You are worse than Zar, who insists that my recklessness is going to get me killed someday." She said, gently patting Red, who grumbled. "Yes, yes, I will get in the healing pod, do not fret. Just had to come check on my favorite girl before I did."

The small adolescent Galra grew older, with just a little more height to claim to her name and a lot more attitude. Like Yellow, Red had memories of Allura as a young child, playing with Ryla alongside Red and letting the young princess go on flights with her. Under Red's watchful gaze, Ryla showed Allura how to fight, gently correcting the small girl's stance and giving plenty of demonstrations. Both Red and Ryla seemed to glow with pride as Allura declared to her father that someday she wanted to be as good a fighter as her Aunty La-La. Alfor suddenly looked very tired as he gave Ryla a look over his daughter's head, which only made Ryla laugh.

Ryla entering Red's hanger, dressed in neither her armor nor her more casual clothes. It was a nice dress, but Red knew that Ryla never wore dresses except for two occasions. The first was a wedding. The second was a funeral. Ryla climbed into Red's cockpit, kicked off her shoes, and curled up in the pilot's chair.

"Her funeral was today." Ryla whispered, leaning her head against the chair, face pressed against the headrest, chin on her knees, tears running down her face, ears drooped. "She is really gone. She was one of my best friends in this whole damn universe and now she is gone. And Zar… Zarkon is gone too… He blames himself even though it is not his fault. But he has gone and left Black and me and everyone. It is not fair, Red. It just is not fair."

She turned and hid her face into Red's chair, sobbing as Red did her best to comfort her Paladin.

Ryla sat on Red's paw, polishing her bayard as Alfor paced.

"Green rejected all the candidates?" She asked.

"So did Blue." Alfor said with a sigh. "Yellow says that she keeps asserting that she has a Paladin already."

"The renouncement was instantaneous." Ryla said. "Red said it was that way with Black, whom I am assuming also refused all candidates. But I guess that is Blue's nature. She still has faith and trusts that he will pilot her again. That he did not mean it…"

"He has made it clear that what Blue wants will not be happening." Alfor said. He rubbed his forehead. "Excellent. We have a Lion of Voltron—one of the most powerful weapons in existent—living in a state of denial and false hopes."

Ryla stopped polishing her bayard and sighed.

"We will figure something out, Alfor. We always do. We will form Voltron again. Blue will eventually pick a new Paladin, as will Green and Black."

"I wish I had your confidence, Ry." Alfor said. He stopped his pacing, hesitated, then said, "Has Zarkon contacted you at all?"

"No." Ryla said, stuffing her cloth into a pocket and fastening her bayard to her belt. "But I imagine he will have to someday. If not him, some messenger or representative. I am a soldier of the Emperor. I am a member of the Galra Empire. I pledged my loyalty to him both as a Paladin and as his subject. He will recall me from Altea eventually."

"So you know nothing about his recent… colonies?" Alfor asked.

"No. Nothing." Ryla said with a frown. "I am as disturbed as you are, Alfor. But thus far, no part of the treaty has been violated. Meticulously maneuvered around the terms and conditions, but not violated."

"That is what worries me." Alfor said.

Ryla came storming into the hanger, her hair swinging in it's braid, her armor on. She pulled her helmet on as she climbed into Red's seat.

"Come on, girl, let's go before Alfor and Yellow can try to stop us." She said. "Someone has to talk some sense into Zarkon."

The next time Red saw her Paladin, she was stripped of her armor and wearing prisoner garb, her beautiful long hair cut short, places on the back of her head and neck bleeding from where the blades had nicked her skin. She was forced onto her knees with a soldier forcing her head down into a bow before Zarkon.

"I always said it was your recklessness that would get you killed." Zarkon said as he came to stand in front of Ryla. "I gave you two options for your freedom, for your life: either swear complete fealty to me, or to make a kill in the arena."

"You knew I would not fight those children. That I would not hurt them." Ryla spat. "You knew it."

"I am giving you a second chance. I suggest you take it." Zarkon said. "Swear your loyalty to me. Join me as I expand the Galra Empire. Follow me without hesitation, without criticism. How many years have you spent doing so? A great majority of your life. You know it is not a difficult decision."

Ryla was quiet.

"Well, my reckless Red Paladin?" Zarkon said. "What is your decision?"

Ryla looked up, yellow-eyes blazing.

"I have often wondered what my place is as a part of Voltron. What it is that the Red Lion and I contribute? You and the others have called me various things over the years: hot-headed, stubborn, reckless, volatile, wild. That I do not think before I act. So what is it that the Red Lion and I embody that makes a good warrior, that makes a Paladin, that gives strength to the bond of Voltron? The Blue Lion and her Paladin represent faith and trust. The Green Lion and her Paladin, intelligence and courage. The Yellow Lion and her Paladin, kindness and selflessness. And you, you and the Black Lion represented a level-head. Leadership. The calm before, during and after the storm.

"But the Red Lion and I? We represent passion. We represent righteous anger. But most of all, we represent fighting against injustice. Once, I followed you without hesitation. Once, I idolized you and swore that I would do anything you asked of me. But no longer. Not when you are invoking all that I represent, that my Lion represents. We represent the fight that has to come for there to be peace. We represent seeking justice for misdeeds. We represent standing up for what is right.

"I will never go against my beliefs. I will never give in to your demands. I will never be your loyal subject ever again. You are not worthy of being a leader, of being my leader. There is your answer, Zarkon. There is my decision."

There was quiet in the room.

Then…

"Take her out of my sight." Zarkon demanded. "She dies at dawn."

With that, he turned away but Ryla struggled against the guards who attempted to subdue her. Red—who had been too patient for too long, who had wondered if it was a mistake to listen to Ryla as she told Red to stay back and stay down—roared and prepared to spring but before she could Ryla turned to her Lion and screamed,

"RED! ACTIVATE FORCE-FIELD!"

Red froze in midair, the blue force-field surrounding her. The force-field couldn't be penetrated until Ryla touched it or Red had to respond to her Paladin in mortal peril. Red did not like it, but she would wait for that moment, she would trust her Paladin's plan, whatever it was…

But, then…

"I RENOUNCE MYSELF AS A PALADIN OF VOLTRON!" Ryla yelled, struggling against the guards more, determined to stay in the room though Red keened, suddenly desiring for the guards to take her away, so that the ritual could not be completed.

Red roared, trying to drown out the sound of Ryla's voice, which she raised to be heard over.

"I RENOUNCE MYSELF AS THE PILOT OF THE RED LION!"

Red was trapped, her Paladin had trapped her. Her Paladin had Renounced her. Red would stay in the force field until she picked a new Paladin.

She would be safe. But Red knew she would never see her precious Paladin again.

Her Paladin had protected her in those last few moments. Protected her for a new Paladin. Knew that this one was not her fight. Red knew it, knew it the moment she heard Green's mournful wails echo through their bonds, soon joined by Blue's frustrated yowls and by Black's painful silence.

It would take a whole new set of Paladins to take down Zarkon.

"I hope another Galra is worthy of being your pilot, Red!" Ryla yelled. "I hope you choose a Galra to fight against this injustice! I hope you—AUGH!"

Ryla crumpled to the ground as electricity met her spine, leaving her twitching and writhing in pain. She was roughly seized by the wrists, arms yanked above her head as she was dragged out of the room.

And Red could only watch as Ryla gave her a smile, her glowing yellow eyes watery.

"Good-bye, Red. Thank you." Ryla whispered.

The mind-meld closed.

Keith tore the headset off, looking up at the Red Lion, who turned her head away. He quickly stood up and crossed over to her, gently petting her hull.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I'm so sorry, Red. But thank you, for showing me her. I promise, she won't have died in vain."

Red made a sound that was half-grumble, half-purr

Allura rubbed at her eye with one of her hands, sniffling some.

"Hey, you okay?" Pidge asked, coming over to put a hand on the Princess's arm.

"Ryla was like a second mother to me, even more so after my mother passed." Allura said, voice choked. "I… I knew Zarkon executed her. He sent the Red Paladin's armor and bayard back to Altea along with footage… My father and Coran destroyed that before I even knew what happened. But I was unaware of how she suffered… Did not know she left Altea on her own free-will to try to stop Zarkon on her own…"

"Yeah, well, that's apparently something Red Paladins are known for." Keith said sheepishly as he rubbed his hand against Red, who made a huffing noise in disdained agreement.

"I think we've had enough for the day." Shiro said, lips pressed together tightly.

"Shiro, let me and Blue have a go." Lance said.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Shiro said.

"Please? I don't want to wait any longer. I need to have this with Blue. I've got to figure some stuff out and she's the only one who can help me do that." Lance said.

He didn't wait for Shiro's response, just snatched up the headset and ran out of Red's hanger before anyone could stop him. By the time the others got into Blue's hanger, Lance was already seated with his legs folded across from Blue.

They waited. And waited. And waited.

But no images ever appeared.

"Huh, Blue's held out longer than Red." Hunk said, brow furrowing. "That's kind of unusual…"

"Maybe one of them is having trouble focusing." Shinji suggested.

"Nah, Lance is good at focusing with this sort of exercise." Hunk said. "Which is also weird, considering—"

Hunk didn't get to finish his sentence as Lance jumped to his feet, yelling at Blue in Spanish, waving his hands wildly.

"Lance, Lance, it's okay, she'll open up when she's ready." Keith said, rushing over to Lance and grabbing his arm.

"She did." Lance said, wrestling the headpiece off. "She won't show me anything. She won't tell me anything either! Except that, apparently, she promised the first guy that she wouldn't say a word about him to her new pilot. Just how bad did he screw up, Blue, that you won't talk about him?"

Blue stood up, growling a warning. Lance blinked.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" He asked.

"By what?" Allura asked. "What did she say?"

Blue suddenly sat back and turned her head away, looking almost embarrassed as Lance turned around, his eyes wide.

"Well, first she basically said that it really wasn't his fault. He didn't mess up, and she doubts I will either." Lance said.

"Which is exactly what we have been telling you all day." Pidge pointed out.

"Yeah, well, here's what she also had to say." Lance said. He took a deep breath, then said, " 'And you should trust him as you trust your fellow Paladins'."

"Wait, _should_ trust him?" Keith repeated, eyes widening at what that implied.

"But, then, that means…" Tali said.

"There are currently two living Original Paladins." Shiro said. "Black… And Blue."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen:

"But this is wonderful news!" Allura exclaimed, clapping her hands together, her eyes suddenly bright and starry.

"It is?" Lani asked. "How?"

"I had assumed he had died with Altea…" Allura said. "But if he is alive, there may be other Alteans who survived as well!"

"Even if it's been ten thousand years?" Shinji asked skeptically. "How long exactly do you Alteans live for?"

"A few centuries at most, but then again, so do the Galra, and Zarkon is still alive." Allura said giddily, spinning in a circle in her excitement.

"Allura…" Shiro said, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder, his face grim. "Even if Blue says we should trust him… We don't know where he is."

"Then we find him!" Allura said.

"And you just said, he'd have been living well past the usual Altean life-expectancy." Shiro said, voice painfully calm.

"Well, I imagine he would be quite elderly, but perhaps he has advice or—"

"Allura." Shiro said, voice firm now as he put his other hand on her shoulders, looking her in the eye. "Allura, you also just said that the only other being in the universe that you know of that has lived well beyond their race's life expectancy was Zarkon."

"Where are you going with this, Shiro?" Keith asked.

"We don't know how Zarkon has been alive this long. And we learned from the Red Lion that Zarkon wasn't against holding his former teammates as prisoners." Shiro said. "The Original Blue Paladin may be Zarkon's prisoner."

"You don't think he would've executed him, though?" Pidge said, frowning. "He executed Ryla."

"Perhaps Zarkon sees him as a sort of trophy. He defeated King Alfor and the Alteans. He may not have Voltron, but he has the only other original pilot, and for a while the only known living Altean. Keeping him alive for that reason alone." Shiro said. Allura's sudden joy disappeared and she stared at the hanger floor, fists at her side.

"I… I concede to your theory…" She said softly. "I do not like it, but it may be possible."

"Then it may be possible to launch a rescue mission for this guy." Hunk said. "We'll just keep an eye out when we go over the prisoner data we've gathered."

"Knowing our luck, he's not too far from Zarkon. Which means we'd need to get as close to Zarkon as possible to get to him." Lance said with a frown. "And we've only just barely made it in and out of what is probably the most secure place in the entire universe."

"And 'out' came with a corrupted wormhole that kept us—and Voltron—separated for nearly a month." Pidge said. "Not an experience I'd like to repeat."

"Same!" Hunk said, putting a hand in the air.

"You're also assuming he'd want to be rescued." Shinji pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Shiro asked, turning to look at his younger brother.

"Well, if Blue represents trust and loyalty, and Zarkon was once the Black Paladin, maybe the first Blue Paladin still trusts—and is still loyal—to Zarkon." Shinji pointed out. "Then he wouldn't show up on prisoner data if he was helping the Galra. It'd also make more sense to keep him alive longer."

"Wow… That's… Yeah, I don't want to think about that." Hunk said.

"The Blue Lion just said that, whenever we meet this guy, we can trust him." Pidge said, fists curled beside them.

"And… you're going by what's said by a giant magic lion who speaks to you all through voices and images in your head?" Shinji said, arching his eyebrow. "I imagine there are quite a few people in the universe who would see that as a sign of insanity."

"Okay, it does sound a little crazy when you put it that way…" Lance conceded with a shrug. "It's something you've got to experience to know for real, though."

They all turned at hearing the sound of the hanger door open and Coran strode in.

"Ah, there you all are. Rather convenient." Coran said.

"Is there a distress signal?" Allura asked.

"No, but there has been a communication signal sent out," Coran said. "And it is addressed to Shiro and Pidge specifically."

At the confused looks on the two Paladins faces, Coran smiled and said,

"Apparently, a friend of yours has some information that you will find very beneficial."

They gathered in front of the communication screen, Pidge sitting in the chair while Shiro stood behind them, hand on their shoulder.

The screen flickered to life and Pidge's face lit up.

"Jebbins!" They exclaimed. "Hi!"

"Greetings, Paladins." The fish-like alien said with a smile, lifting his hand in a two-fingered gesture of greeting.

"It's good to see you," Shiro said with a smile. "Have you finally made it back to your home planet?"

"Yes, and I must extend my gratitude for arriving to discover that Voltron had liberated my people." Jebbins said. "I cannot thank you and your team enough."

"It's what we do." Pidge said. "Comes with the 'Defenders of the Universe' title."

"And you do both very well, from what I have seen." Jebbins said. "But I did not contact you just to thank you. Several days ago, we received an unexpected visitor to my planet."

"Galra?" Shiro asked.

"No," Jebbins said. "A former prisoner. He is badly injured and healing, but our equipment is nowhere near as advanced as what is in your Castle. Before he fell unconscious, he declared that he was looking for you, Shiro, and that he had something important to tell you. However, we do not know how he came to know your name, and I am wondering if it is possible that he may know information about the one you seek called Matt."

"Shiro, we have to meet him." Pidge said, looking up at Shiro with wide eyes.

"I agree." Shiro said. He looked over his shoulder. "Allura, can we make another wormhole jump?"

"Not until a full day cycle has passed since our last one." Allura said with a frown. "But we can travel in that direction to make a smaller, less energy-consuming jump by morning."

"The Healers do not expect him to awake for another sun cycle." Jebbins said.

"Then we'll have plenty of time." Shiro said. He then turned to Lance. "Lance, the Blue Lion is the best suited for water. Do you mind taking me and Pidge down planet-side when we get there? That way, we don't have to land the Castle."

Lance smiled some and nodded.

"Yeah, Blue and I can do that, no problem." He said.

"We will prepare for the Blue Lion's arrival, then." Jebbins said. "Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you both again soon."

With a final exchange of farewells, the screen turned dark.

"So, who was that?" Lani asked.

"Jebbins was part of a group of prisoners we rescued when we were looking for the Red Lion." Shiro explained. "And, apparently, he, Matt and I were imprisoned in the same complex for some time."

"It is so weird to think of you having prison buddies." Tali said, shaking her head. "Matt, eh, I always figured it was a matter of time until he blew up the wrong thing or messed with the wrong computer system. But that just seems all so surreal."

"That's the part that's surreal about all this?" Shiro asked, arching an eyebrow. "You do realize you're standing in an alien spacecraft, right?"

"What can I say?" Tali said with a shrug. "I'm adjusting to the new normal. But that still doesn't include you saying so casually, 'Oh, yeah, he and I were in prison together'."

"Why aren't we all going planet-side?" Shinji asked.

"Doesn't make sense to," Shiro explained. "We'll only be gone for a few hours maximum. We've been to this planet before so we know it should be safe and Galra free now, and we try to regularly keep in touch with the planets we've been to to check on the rehabilitation process. If they needed all of us, then we'd all go."

Shinji frowned slightly at this answer, but said nothing.

"It's getting late enough that I should go start dinner." Hunk said. "And, I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to asking this question, what should I make tonight?"

"Anything that's not green." Pidge said. "I'd like to continue to pretend that food goo does not exist for as long as possible."

"Agreed." Hunk said with a nod. "How about spaghetti?"

"Sounds good." Keith said. "You want help?"

"Nah, it's easy enough," Hunk said, waving his hand.

"I'll help you though," Lani said. "I said I'd pull my weight around here, and by golly I'm gonna do it."

"Alright, then," Hunk said, a grin starting to form on his face. Lani also grinned and the two left, starting to divvy up the tasks.

"Well now…" Pidge said with a smirk. "Our help's not good enough, apparently…"

"Well, we did nearly destroy the kitchen the last time we tried to cook in there." Keith said.

"Oh, no, there was no 'we' in that one, Keith. That was you, because you were too impatient and turned the heat up on everything so it would cook faster." Lance said. "It was the closest I've ever seen Hunk get to seriously hurting someone."

"And… you people are the Universe's only hope?" Shinji said, arching an eyebrow.

"Don't be jealous of us because we are the best pilots in the universe and officially hashtag-blessed by magic robot space lions." Lance said dramatically.

"Trust me, I'm not." Shinji said, turning on his heel to stride out of the room. "I'll see you all at dinner."

He was barely out the door when Lance shrugged and said,

"I'm going to go make sure Blue's ready for when we get there."

With that, he strode out of the room with his usual air of confidence.

This made Keith frown some with concern, then he headed out of the room as well.

He figured he had enough time to get in at least one round with the gladiator before he went to check on Lance.

Half an hour later, Keith walked into Blue's hanger, walking up and affectionately patting the Lion on the paw.

"Hey, is Lance around?" Keith asked. In response, Blue lowered her head and opened her mouth for him to enter the cockpit.

Keith found Lance sitting in the pilot's chair, his knees to his chest and staring blankly out the windshield.

"Hey, dinner's almost ready." Keith said, putting his hand on Lance's shoulder. Lance gave a small grunt of acknowledgement. Keith frowned and knelt down beside Lance. "Hey, you okay?"

"Just peachy." Lance said flatly.

"Okay, I'm gonna ask that question again and you're going to answer it honestly this time." Keith said, crouching down next to Lance. "Are you alright?"

"I've got a lot to think about." Lance said. "I don't know what the first Blue Paladin did to lose Coran's respect, I just know I don't want to do the same thing. And even if Allura's right, and it was the entire first Team Voltron that had some sort of contribution to their downfall… Well, even though they're a team, they were still individuals, too. Five parts to make a whole."

"Which just means you're one of five." Keith said. "Which means you've got four people who always have your back. And if one of us does mess up, that just means that there are four other people to help fix it. Whatever gets weak, we'll strengthen."

"Yeah, I get that." Lance said. "But it's just… I'm kind of upset that Blue won't talk to me. Won't tell me what happened. She's never done this to me before. We talk a lot, but never about Paladin _Numero Uno_. But, she still loves him, regardless of what exactly went down ten thousand years ago. He was her Paladin first. I mean, I don't think she treats me differently than she treated him, or cares about one of us more than the other, it's just…" Lance sighed. "We've got our bond. I don't… I don't think it's strained or anything. Yes, I was mad earlier, but it's not going to be a problem for us in battle or forming Voltron. But I thought I knew just about everything about Blue up until this week. Now I'm not sure if what I do know will be enough, and if what I don't know could be even more important than what I do."

"So we bond with the Lions more. We'll struggle through trying to decode all those ancient Altean texts about the Lions and Voltron." Keith said. "Look, I know the saying 'those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it', but I think in this case we don't have that much to worry about. You heard Coran the other night; we bonded much faster with our Lions and each other than the Original Paladins. We're already stronger than them, and connected by fate. We're going to be okay, Lance."

Lance frowned and looked away. Keith huffed and grabbed Lance's hand.

"You're wasting a lot of emotional and mental energy worrying about this. Blue loves you and obviously thinks you're the best pilot for her. She trusts you, and is going to keep you safe. And, besides, no matter what it was that made Coran not like the first Blue Paladin, it obviously has nothing to do with you. I'm pretty sure you're his favorite out of all of us, you know. Well, except Allura, of course. You're always swapping stories and did you have to introduce him to memes, by the way?"

Lance chuckled at that, looking a little proud of that.

"Hey, it was either me or Pidge." He said. "And I'm not wrong, they are an important piece of Earth culture and communication."

"Yeah, sure." Keith said dryly. "But I think I know what you're really worried about. You're worried you're going to do something to lose the respect of your teammates, including the Princess and Coran."

Lance was quiet again, and Keith gave his hand a squeeze.

"That's not going to happen. Never." Keith promised.

"I'm always the screw-up." Lance mumbled.

"No, you're not. We all share that role. I can't even guess how many times you've prevented me from being a screw-up even more than I already have been." Keith said. "We all make mistakes. Everyone. The problem with being at war is that when those mistakes are made, they seem to be just a little bigger."

Lance sighed and ran a hand over his face before turning to look at Keith, a small smile on his face.

"Dude, you're starting to sound like Shiro, with all this logical pep-talk and rational thinking stuff, you know." He said.

"You are the second person to say that this week, and Shiro would be happy to know after all this time, his logic and rational thoughts finally started to rub off on me." Keith said. He leaned over and kissed Lance's cheek, Lance's smile growing. "So stop pouting over nothing, and let's go get some food."

"Alright, alright." Lance said, standing up and stretching his arms over his head, making Keith wince at the sound of Lance popping his joints. Lance gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I wasn't trying to do that."

"It just sounds painful." Keith said, shuddering some. "It hurts my ears, but it sounds like it should hurt you."

"Nah, feels good, actually." Lance said. "But thanks for the concern."

Lance threw his arm around Keith's shoulder and they left Blue's hanger. They hadn't gotten too far when Keith paused.

"You good?" Lance asked, frowning at Keith's sudden stop.

"Yeah, it's just… I want to make a quick detour to my room." Keith said, dragging Lance down the hallway. "I need to grab something. Pidge said that they would do me a favor, and I was hoping to cash in on it after dinner."

"What kind of favor?" Lance asked as he fell back into step beside Keith just for the shorter teen to stop in front of his bedroom door.

"The kind that, hopefully, leads to a couple of answers about my father." Keith answered.

* * *

 **I couldn't find an official name for the alien prisoner Pidge and Shiro rescued in the first episode, the one who was with Shiro and Matt at the arena. So when my 10 year old brother decided to just make up a name for this alien, I decided to use it.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen:

Pidge tapped a finger against their chin, brow furrowed as they stared down at the tablet that laid on the table before them.

"So?" Lance prompted from where he sat across from Pidge, his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his palm. "Are you going to hack into it by just staring at it? I know you're good, Pidge, but forgive me for being a little skeptical here…"

"This thing has got to be at least twenty years old. That's ancient in tech." Pidge said. "I'm worried that my usual hacking methods—with outside equipment—might destroy it."

"So you can't get into it." Keith said, shoulders slumping some.

"I didn't say that." Pidge said. "I just can't break into it like a Galra command ship computer or even the Garrison's computers. I have to go about it differently."

"You haven't even turned it on yet." Shinji pointed out from where he sat on the table beside Pidge, staring down at the piece of tech as well. "If it will turn on at all."

"It's fully charged." Keith said. "I charged it on Earth, and I've got the charging cord for it."

Pidge made a thoughtful humming noise before reaching out to turn on the tablet.

It took a few seconds for the screen to light up, displaying a photo and six character blocks to enter the password.

"What's the picture of?" Lance asked, standing up to lean over. Then he suddenly grinned and snatched the tablet up. "Aw, I knew there had to be more than one picture of you smiling, Keith! Everyone, come look at this picture of baby Keith!"

"Quiznak, I forgot about that!" Keith said, trying to snatch the tablet out of Lance's hands, but it was too late.

"Awwww!" Lani cooed.

"Oh, how adorable!" Allura squealed, hands clasped before her.

"Aw, you were a cute kid, Keith." Tali said, reaching over to ruffle Keith's hair.

"Oh. Em. Gee! Just look at those cheeks! So precious!" Lance said with a huge grin, shimmying a little at the picture as Keith growled and buried his red face in his hands.

"Ugh, can you just give it back to Pidge already?" Keith snapped.

"You know, if I do get it unlocked, there will probably just be more pictures for them to coo over." Pidge said, holding out their hand for Lance to give the tablet back to them.

"And I'll make sure they are all deleted before they get to see them." Keith said, eyes narrowed as Lance reluctantly handed the tablet back to Pidge.

Pidge took the tablet in both hands, studying the photo on the screen. The photo had both Keith and his mother. Keith was a toddler, sitting on her lap, both smiling wide in front of a small, round cake with three red candles on top.

"Hmm, I wonder…" Pidge said out-loud.

"You wonder what?" Shiro asked.

"I wonder if this photo is a hint to what the password could be." Pidge said. A few taps revealed that only numbers were candidates to fill the spaces. "Keith, you said you tried your birthday as a possible combination?"

"Yeah, my birthday, the date of my third birthday, my mom's birthday, the dates she got her degrees… I can't think of any other six digit combination." Keith said.

"Degrees?" Pidge repeated. "How many degrees did your mom have?"

"Including her high school degree, three. Well, three officially. Technically four." Keith said. "Why?"

"Playing detective here. Take a few stabs at the password before breaking out the heavy equipment." Pidge said. "What were her other degrees in?"

"Her Bachelors' degree and her Masters' were in astronomy and astrophysics." Keith said. "She died a week before her dissertation for her Ph.D. was approved, so it was received posthumously."

"Maybe the password has something to do with space, then." Hunk suggested from where he sat beside Pidge. "Did your Mom have a particular aspect that she liked to study? Like a certain planet or stuff she was just really interested in?"

"She loved it all." Keith said. "The university paid her tuition as a Ph.D. student in exchange for her teaching a few Astronomy 101 classes. She taught one class late in the evenings after school got out and she didn't want me to have a baby-sitter, so I would sit under the desk and play or read while she lectured. But it wasn't so much as a lecture as it was… I don't know if there's a word for it. She was so passionate. Planets, stars, comets, other galaxies… She loved everything."

"Well, that narrows nothing down." Lance said. "Space is huge."

Pidge, however, was determined.

"We'll figure it out." Pidge said. "After all, there's only nine hundred thousand possible combinations."

"Only?" Shiro said, arching an eyebrow.

"Hey, that's not bad, all things considering." Pidge said. "What about hobbies?"

"Mom did hapkido when she was a kid, but she didn't practice it much after high school, apparently." Keith said. "But… She always seemed to be surrounded by these number puzzles."

"Like… Sudoku?" Lani asked.

"No," Keith said, shaking his head. "More like these really complicated calculus and physics-type equations."

Pidge suddenly sat up straighter and dug into the pocket of their pants, pulling out a small spiral notebook.

"Like this?" Pidge asked, flipping over the pages until landing on a page that was covered with notes and equations, Pidge's handwriting not the only one on the page, and the other Paladins quickly recognized it as Hunk's.

Keith's brow furrowed, then his eyes widened some with recognition.

"Yeah, a little like that." He said, nodding.

Pidge grinned widely.

"The combination options maybe just got a bit smaller." They said, flipping to a new page and pulling out a pen. "Hunk, help me out here."

"Huh? With what?" Hunk asked.

"Help me remember all repetitive Fibonacci-like digits up to six integers." Pidge said, scribbling a few digits down.

"Base ten or base twelve?" Hunk asked, leaning over.

"Predominately base ten, but any base twelve numbers that only contain numerals." Pidge said

The two worked on this list for several minutes, to the confusion of everyone else at the table, both spouting out seemingly random numbers and Pidge jotting them down.

"Okay, I think that's all of them." Hunk said and Pidge nodded with agreement.

"Mind explaining what the heck a repeating fiber-nut digit is?" Lance asked.

"A repetitive Fibonacci-like digit." Hunk corrected. "A 'refigit'. See, when a positive integer N that appears as a term in a linear recurrence relation—"

"In English?" Shinji said, interrupting.

"In recreational mathematics, they're these rare numbers that match specific criteria. There's only one hundred known numbers that meet the specifications." Pidge said, starting to plug in numbers.

"Why do you believe these numbers will help find the password?" Coran asked.

"Because these numbers have another name," Pidge said, looking up with a grin.

"Is it less of a mouthful?" Tali asked.

"Considerably." Pidge said. "It's the last name of the man who discovered them." They grinned as the lock screen disappeared, bringing up the home menu, turning the tablet around to hold out to Keith. Their grin grew. "The other name for these numbers is ' _Keith_ Numbers'."

Keith blinked once, but then accepted the tablet from Pidge.

There was a camera roll app, one for notes that contained diagrams and charts and equations, one for e-mail that a little yellow number in the corner indicated that the inbox had been filling up with spam for years, and a few other odd apps and notes about meetings and reminders to grade homework. But the one that grabbed Keith's attention was the one labeled 'Journal'.

That was the app he selected and it brought up a long list of entries to choose from. Keith's brow furrowed as he scrolled up to the top, taking note of the date of the first one, which was in the month of October of the year before he was born. He chose that one.

To his surprise, instead of text, a video screen popped up instead and he quickly made sure that the volume was up. He watched as his mother appeared, smiling some but looking tired and a bit pale.

"Hi, Thace." She said, giving the camera a small wave. "It's Sunny. But, uh, I guess you've figured that out by now. Since I'm probably the one who forced these videos into your hands." She took a deep breath then said, "Wow, okay, I really don't know what to say now… I guess, first, I miss you. A lot. And I worry about you, a lot. And if you're watching this, that means you came back. I know you will, someday. But, for now… For now, I'm going to keep these video diaries. Because I have a lot to tell you, a lot I want you to know, and this will probably be a bit easier for the both of us. For you, to know what's been going on. And for me, because maybe it'll feel like you're here with me?" She sniffled and rubbed at her eye. "Oh, crap, I'm crying. I told myself I wouldn't cry. I swear, if you tease me about this, you're going to get another frying pan to the face and you'll totally deserve it, Fluff Butt."

"Another?" Keith repeated, brow furrowing as he stared at the screen.

"Frying pan?" Allura said, tilting her head. By now, everyone had found a way to crowd Keith and the tablet.

"To the face?" Hunk said with wide eyes.

"Fluff Butt?" Lance said, dismay and amusement in his voice.

"Anyway, it's not my fault I'm crying." Sunny said. "And… And that's why I'm doing this. Making these videos. So, it's been about two months since you left. I'm back at school and, anyways, a few weeks ago I thought I caught the flu? And, well, it's not exactly the flu, apparently. And even though you're probably going to be the last person to know this, I wanted you to be the first I told, so to speak." She took a deep breath and smiled, "I'm pregnant. And I'm so happy, but at the same time I'm so scared, because obviously my parents are going to freak, and my scholarships should help me through to the end of next semester, but I don't know if I'll graduate, and I've never really thought about being a mother, let alone a single mother, and definitely not being a single mom to a kid whose dad is an alien and off in space doing alien things, so I'm not really sure I'm cut out for this… And I'm terrified to go to a doctor, because how the heck am I going to explain that there's a high likelihood of this kid coming out purple and covered in fur? Just say 'Oh, no, everything is fine, the baby just looks like their father, who is an alien'? Going to have to figure that out…" Sunny sighed again. "Well. I've got seven-ish months to make a game-plan. I'll figure something out by then. I guess." Somewhere behind her, a door slammed and she frowned. "Crap, that's my roommates, so I've got to wrap this up. Love you, and see you soon."

With that, she reached over and turned off the camera, ending the entry.

"Your mom hit a fully-grown and most likely highly-trained Galra soldier in the face with a frying pan. Possibly on more than one occasion." Pidge said, shaking their head some. "I feel like this explains a lot about you, Keith…"

"His name is Thace." Keith mumbled, staring at the screen blankly.

"And your Mom called him 'Fluff Butt'. I'm totally going to borrow that, by the way. That's too good to pass up." Lance said with a huge grin. "So, now that we know his name, do you want to see what info we can find out about your father?"

"That may be a little difficult." Coran said. " 'Thace' was a very popular name for young male Galra ten thousand years ago, as it was the name of one of the first Galra Emperors. I imagine the same is true today. Without a surname or a rank, it may be very well impossible."

"Sometimes names go in and out of fashion." Lani said. "Maybe this is one of them?"

"It can't hurt to find out." Shiro said.

"No." Keith said, turning off the tablet and setting it aside. "That's… That's okay. For now, I've got all the information I want about him."

"Are you sure?" Allura asked. "Just a name is enough?"

"Yeah." Keith said, nodding, his fingers absentmindedly running over the seams of his gloves. "I'll watch some of the other entries later. Maybe I'll change my mind. But for now… For now, I'm good."

Pidge quickly wrote something down on a blank page of their notebook and tore the page out, handing it to Keith.

"This is the password," They said.

"Thanks, Pidge. For everything." Keith said, accepting the paper. He frowned down at the numbers there. 197742. "But, uh, how did you figure it out?"

"Well, I started to wonder why the photo your mom used was an older one, then I wondered if it was a clue to the password. A picture of you, the day you turned three. Once you mentioned that she liked math, I wondered if there was a chance she did recreational mathematics like Hunk and I do. And there's only two three-digit Keith Numbers in base-ten, one hundred ninety-seven and seven hundred forty-two. Figured it couldn't hurt to at least test a theory." Pidge explained.

"I'm still blown away by the fact that people do math. For fun. But at the same time am not surprised that you two nerdy geniuses are some of those people." Lance said.

"Pidge and I make up problems for each other to solve all the time." Hunk said. "It's really fun!"

"We'll take your word for it." Shiro said. "Alright, lights out in two hours."

With that, everyone began to disperse to their own projects. Keith usually headed back to the training deck at this point of the evening. He'd take on the gladiator for a few rounds, get a shower and then not leave his room until morning. But, tonight, he wanted to head back to his room straight away, ready to explore more of the tablet's contents in privacy.

"Keith, wait up!"

Keith paused to see Lance come running up behind him, skidding to a stop to wrap his arm around Keith's waist, pulling Keith towards him.

Keith blushed and gently elbowed Lance in the side as Lance pressed a kiss to his temple, but stopped when Lance whispered,

"Now it's my turn to ask you a question, and have you answer honestly. And if you don't—and I'll know if you don't—I'll just get Shiro, because I know you can't and won't lie to Shiro."

Keith sighed.

"Alright, fine, what?" He demanded irritably.

"Why don't you want to find out more about your dad?" Lance asked. "You usually don't stop until you know absolutely everything. You're like a cat, always curious. So, what's up?"

Keith was quiet, then started to walk, putting his free hand on the small of Lance's back to push him alongside him.

"I just… I'm okay with not knowing everything." Keith said.

"Because he's a Galra?"

"Because he might not even be alive. Because if he is, he's most likely serving Zarkon." Keith said. "Because I won't ever know why he left. I won't know if he ever really intended to go back to Earth for Mom. Because I won't ever know if he really loved her."

"Your mom loved him." Lance pointed out as Keith opened the door to his bedroom, following Keith inside as the door hissed shut. "And didn't you say that your mom always told you that your dad left her his knife as a betrothal gift or something? He wouldn't have popped the question if he didn't love her, right?"

"I don't know." Keith said, taking off his jacket and hanging it up before sitting down on the bed beside Lance. "I won't know what they were like together. If it really was love. Or, I don't know, maybe my mom got abducted and it turned into Stockholm Syndrome or something."

"You really don't think it's possible that they both really just loved each other, huh?" Lance said, snaking his arm around Keith to rub at the back of Keith's neck. "Come on, we know there have to be some good Galra. Why can't your dad be one of them?"

"Because the likelihood of him being a good Galra is slim, and I'd rather not get my hopes up." Keith said. His eyes slid shut and let out a small moan as Lance's fingers gently eased some of the tension in his neck. "That feels good…"

"Of course it does, my fingers are magic." Lance said teasingly before becoming serious again. "Alright, so what exactly were you hoping to get out of Pidge's hacking expertise and your mom's video diaries? You said you wanted answers about your dad, but now you're not even going to find more information based off the information you do have?"

Keith was quiet, laying his head against Lance's shoulders.

"Lance… If Mom really loved him… If I was conceived out of love, even if it just was one-sided… Really, I'm okay with just knowing that." Keith whispered.

Lance's fingers paused, looking down at Keith with wide-eyes.

"Keith… What were you-? Were you wondering if—" Lance cut himself off, not quite sure how to phrase his question.

Keith avoided looking at Lance.

"You know, my grandparents called me a demon-child the only time I met them, which was at Mom's funeral. They wanted nothing to do with me. How I ended up in the system." Keith mumbled into Lance's shirt, his hand absently feeling Lance's ribs underneath the fabric of his shirt, trailing up and down. "For a while, when I got a bit older and knew more about the world, I thought maybe I was the result of a one-night stand, and that's why they reacted like they did. Why they hated me and disowned Mom. But then… Lance, we have no idea what the Galra did to Shiro. But what we do know is that it was violent and his brain has blocked out as much as it can from that time. I didn't know… That was what made learning about being half-Galra so… so terrifying. If I was the result of violence or not."

Lance shifted, turning to cup Keith's face, looking him dead in the eye, all seriousness.

"Keith, no matter what happened, the circumstances that brought you into the universe… You're here now, and you're doing good. You're a good person and I'm sorry that your grandparents were too stupid to realize that. I'm sorry for all the crap you had to go through because you didn't deserve it. I don't even believe for one moment that even Zarkon or that freaky witch lady deserves what you went through. You're a wonderful human being, who just happens to be half space were-chinchilla-cat-bat-thing. You're kind, and talented, and smart and passionate and selfless. You are you, and you are loved for who you are. By me, by Shiro, by Red, by Hunk, Pidge, Allura, Coran… I'm pretty sure Tali, too, for as much grief as she gives you. But just don't forget that." Lance said firmly. "The actions of others cannot and will never define you."

Keith smiled some.

"I think we've come full circle." Keith said, reaching up to put his hand to Lance's cheek. "Because we've all been telling you that pretty much the entire day."

Lance blinked, looking a little confused, then he smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah," He said with a small chuckle. "Yeah, you have." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Keith's forehead. "Alright, I think we've got all existential crises out of our system. It's exhausting, and I've got to fly tomorrow."

"Yeah." Keith said with a small sigh, pouting slightly. "I guess you're going to be wanting to go to bed then, huh?"

"Yep. I'm ready to call it a day." Lance said, gently running a hand over the back of Keith's hair. Slowly, he untangled himself and got to his feet. "I'll be back in five minutes."

Keith's small pout suddenly faded, eyes widening as he looked up at Lance.

"You'll be back?" He said.

"Yep. Just give me a few minutes to put on PJs and stuff." Lance said, smirking and giving Keith a wink. "Unless you don't want to cuddle tonight…"

"I want cuddles!" Keith blurted out, eyes going very wide.

Lance laughed.

"I know you do." He said teasingly, reaching forward to bop Keith on the nose with his fingertip, making Keith's nose scrunch. "Despite your best efforts, the only thing 'hard-core' about you is that you're a hard-core snuggle machine."

"Hey, I haven't been able to really hug you for the last few days. And I'm losing you again tomorrow morning." Keith pointed out. "I need my fix."

"Same, Fluff Butt." Lance said.

"Do not call me that." Keith said, narrowing his eyes at Lance.

"Fine, but you know I'll just come up with more nicknames for you." Lance said.

"Oh, trust me, I know you will. It was killing me not to ask your siblings for translations." Keith said.

"Aw, but you not knowing is half the fun." Lance said, smirking. "For me, it is."

Keith scowled.

"You going to go change or what?" He said.

Lance laughed.

"Yeah, be back in five. Prepare for the most epic snuggle session you've had yet!"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen:

Technically speaking, Pidge was used to a Shirogane male coming into their lab late at night.

The problem was that she preferred this one's brother.

"What do you want, Shinji?" Pidge said, not looking up from their project, working on the motherboard of a robotics project they and Hunk were working on.

"Do you think that Takashi made a good decision?" Shinji asked, his eyes going around the room, looking at the variety of pieces of junk that adorned the lab Pidge shared with Hunk, although Pidge occupied the space much more often than Hunk did.

"About?" Pidge prompted, still not looking up.

"About having Lance take you two down to this planet tomorrow?"

Pidge did stop what they were doing and sat up straighter, setting aside their tools and lifting up their welding goggles, resting them on top of their head.

"The Blue Lion and her Paladin are the Guardian Spirit of water." Pidge said. "This planet is, like, seventy percent water. We probably wouldn't have been able to free this planet if it wasn't for Blue and Lance. So, yeah, Shiro made a great decision. Sure, Green and Black could have handled it, but Blue loves the water as much as Lance does. So if we need to take only one Lion down, it should be one that is literally in their element."

"Lance isn't necessarily known for his piloting capabilities. He's lucky he was even considered for cargo piloting." Shinji said, taking a few steps forward, eyes sweeping over the table that held Pidge's project.

Pidge frowned, eyes narrowing.

"Lance is a fantastic pilot." They said, trying and failing to keep their voice even.

"Are we talking about the same Lance Sanchez-Garcia, known for his spectacular simulator crashes?" Shinji asked, arching an eyebrow at Pidge.

"Lance only crashed the simulators when he tried to show-off." Pidge said. "He won't show off when it's really serious. He does better under pressure, actually. And his first year simulator scores were really good. Just a few points shy of making the fighter class qualifications from the start."

"Funny. I would have thought with all the snooping you did, you'd investigate the records of your two new teammates." Shinji said.

"What? And you did?" Pidge asked, folding their arms over their chest, if only to stop themself from strangling Shinji.

"You're not the only one who can hack a Garrison administration computer." Shinji said. "Yeah, I looked into the records of Lance, Hunk and Keith after you four abducted Takashi. Lance should have considered himself lucky to be placed in cargo class, to make it into the Garrison at all."

"If you're referring to Lance's ADHD, I am fully aware of it." Pidge said, narrowing their eyes, not liking the feeling that they were being taunted. "Everyone is. Know the whole story. Diagnosed at seven, took Adderall until he was twelve and started looking seriously towards the Garrison and the piloting program. In order to meet the criteria for the American Pilots Association and Galaxy Garrison guidelines about stimulants, he stopped taking the meds and has been off them ever since. It would have been discrimination for the Garrison to reject him, with his scores on the middle school simulators, his academic record and meeting the physical fitness criteria."

Then, something Shinji had said registered in their brain.

"Wait," Pidge said. "Lance really could have been put in fighter class from the start?"

"Yeah, apparently his scores and Keith's were always really close." Shinji said. He frowned, then said, "I take that back. His original scores were always really close to Keith's. After the Garrison altered them, they were just good enough to make top of cargo class qualifications. Most of his simulator 'crashes' were deliberate computer glitches, set to activate by his student ID number."

Pidge sighed and rubbed their forehead, putting the pieces together.

"Because of Lance's formally diagnosed ADHD, someone decided he wouldn't be a good fighter pilot, so he ended up in cargo class. No wonder Lance declared Keith his rival…" They said. They had wondered about the accuracy of 'Lance and Keith, neck and neck' before, but now they realized just how true it was.

And why it had affected Lance so badly.

They then briefly wondered how the top brass at the Garrison would react to knowing that the pilot they had all lauded as "The Garrison's Next Takashi Shirogane" was a self-diagnosed autistic.

"Good to know just how corrupt the Garrison is." Pidge said. "So, did you bring this to me out of true concern or did you just want to brag that you know how to bypass the Garrison's pathetic excuse for cybersecurity? Because if it's the former, you're worrying for no reason, and Shiro trusts Lance and that's what's important. If it's the latter, then why should I care when I did it before you even switched to the communications program?"

Shinji was quiet, just staring at Pidge blankly.

Pidge sighed again and said,

"Why are you here, Shinji?"

"A little bit of both reasons you just named." Shinji responded, a bit of sheepishness in his voice.

"No, why are you on this ship? Why did you want to come?" Pidge asked. "And your answer better be good, because you and I both know you basically bullied your brother into letting you come."

"You want to find your family. I want to protect mine." Shinji said sharply, eyes narrowing at Pidge. "I'm not losing Takashi again. I can't."

Some of the tension left Pidge's shoulders, gaze softening.

"I get it." Pidge said with a nod. "I really do."

"I know you do." Shinji said, which surprised them.

"You do?" Pidge said, blinking.

"Yeah." Shinji said, turning on his heel. "You and I have the same goal, after all. Get our brothers back to Earth. And keep them there."

With that, he left the room, leaving Pidge in silence.

They huffed and took off the goggles, setting them on the table before tearing off their work gloves, wondering what they should do with this new information and this new understanding of Shinji.

"What do you think?" Pidge asked from where they sat on Black's paw, looking up at Shiro, who frowned as he continued to polish Black's armor. "Should we tell him?"

"I don't know, Pidge." Shiro admitted. "I really don't."

"It'd boost his confidence, especially after today." Pidge pointed out. "But that's another reason you asked him to take us planet-side, isn't it?"

"Not entirely, more like a bonus benefit." Shiro admitted. "Lance might not take it as a confidence boost. If it were me, I know I'd be angry and hurt. Lance was rightfully denied something that should have been his all along, and then fought for it so hard."

"Only to get it as part of someone else's punishment." Pidge said, shoulders drooping. "Not necessarily as a reward for his own hard work and effort. That really sucks."

"No wonder he feels the need to show off and get people's attention." Shiro said, coming to sit beside Pidge. "He wants to prove he both deserves and has earned his position."

"He had to go through a lot of struggles to get into the Garrison, and they never even really gave him a chance. That's not fair. And to lie to him, to everyone… Ugh, why am I even surprised about that?" Pidge said, frowning, resting their elbows on their knees and their chin on their fists. "Just when I was starting to think it wasn't possible for the Garrison to lose any more of my respect…"

Shiro sighed and reached an arm around Pidge to gently rub their back.

"Alright, tell you what, when we get back, I'll talk to Hunk and get his opinion, since he knows Lance the best. Keith, too." Shiro said. "For now, Lance seems okay. He definitely seemed better at dinner compared to before. Does that sound like a good plan to you?"

"Yeah." Pidge said, nodding.

"Alright." Shiro said, gently patting them on the back. "Okay, go get some sleep. We've got an early morning awaiting us."

"I will if you will." Pidge said, standing up to turn and offer Shiro their hand. Shiro smiled and accepted their hand.

"I'll walk you to your room." Shiro said.

"Are you sure you've got everything you'll need?" Hunk asked as he and Keith waited with Lance and Pidge for Shiro to arrive in the Blue Lion's hanger. "First aid kit? Pidge, do you have your set of pocket tools? Got your bayards? Snacks? Wait, I think I have time to make you guys a basket of snacks."

"Relax, Hunk, we'll be back in a few hours, no big deal." Lance said with a grin. "We'll be back for lunch, and after that awesome breakfast of Lani's, I don't think we'll be hungry even then."

Lani had surprised everyone that morning, with hot muffins, bacon, fruit and eggs, all of the Paladins alternately praising her (Lance flat-out got on his knees and bowed before her, calling her a goddess; Shiro told him to get off the floor before he could promise Lani his first born) and insisting that she hadn't needed to go to so much effort.

"Really, I told you all I would help out around here. Making breakfast is nothing compared to, I don't know, defending the entire universe?" Lani said.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to do everything on your own." Pidge said.

"We're a team, and every member of a team has their role, but they also share responsibilities." Shiro said. "And you're part of this team now, too."

Out of the corner of their eye, Pidge saw Shinji's eyes flash quickly to Shiro, frown, then looked back down at his own plate.

"So, does he give a pep talk about the magic of friendship and working as a team every morning over breakfast?" Tali asked, smirking some.

"No." Shiro said, narrowing his eyes at Tali.

"Yes." The other four Paladins said, before laughing.

"Well, it's nice to know somethings will never change." Tali said, smirk growing as she stabbed a strawberry with her spork. "One time, right before a big simulator final exam we were all nervous about, Matt and I seriously considered drowning Shiro in maple syrup just to get him to shut up and let us stress out in peace."

"Maple syrup?" Allura questioned.

"It was pancake day." Tali said simply. "It was either that, or coffee and we realized that if we failed, then we'd only get a highly-caffeinated version of the same pep talk."

Now, an hour later, Tali and Lani were finishing cleaning up the kitchen while Pidge and Lance went to put on their armor and Shiro gave Hunk and Keith their marching orders while the others were gone.

"Yeah, Hunk, if you're not careful, your girlfriend is going to permanently take over your role as chef around here." Pidge said, Lance and Keith both smirking at Pidge's use of the word 'girlfriend'.

Hunk scowled at them, but his friends could see that his cheeks were a bit darker than usual.

"One, Lani and I have been peacefully cohabitating a kitchen for years on Earth and can easily do so in space." Hunk said. "And, two, she is not my girlfriend."

"Yet." Lance said, a sly grin forming across his face.

"Ugh, guys, seriously, not cool." Hunk said, folding his arms over his chest. "You know, guys and girls can be friends without there being any romance, right?"

"Hunk's right." Pidge said. "I mean, Tali is friends with Shiro and Matt, and you guys are all friends with Allura. So guys can be just friends with girls, and vice versa."

"Exactly." Hunk said, nodding his approval, arms folded over his chest.

"That's just not what's happening with Hunk and Lani." Pidge finished, earning some indignant sputtering from Hunk.

"Guys, it wasn't funny when you started this with Shay, and it's even less funny now!" Hunk said.

"Hunk, you are aware that your crush is kind of obvious, right?" Keith said. "We can all tell you really like Lani, in the more-than-childhood-friends way."

"Don't deny it, you Hunk of burning love." Lance said, playfully punching Hunk's arm.

Hunk huffed and folded his arms over his chest again, though this time defensively.

"Fine, okay, I do like her, but none of you can tell her, okay?" Hunk said. "I don't want to make our friendship weird or anything if it's unrequited. I don't think she likes me like that."

"Hunk, you are a total package." Lance said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You're handsome, you give great hugs and love cuddles, you're a fantastic cook, you're smart and creative, you're kind, you love cats and puppies and other cute fluffy creatures equally, and like long walks on the beach… Not to mention, you're a Defender of the Universe, Paladin of Voltron. Someone would have to be crazy to not be totally in love with you."

"Look, I appreciate the pep talk, but just let me handle this on my own, okay?" Hunk said. "I'll tell her when I'm comfortable telling her, alright? I value my friendship with Lani too much to risk it. So let it go, okay?"

"Alright, if that's what you want, we'll respect that." Lance said. "But know you've got us to talk to and support you, got it? We're your friends, too."

Hunk nodded.

Suddenly, Pidge had a thought. Or, rather, a culmination of various thoughts that they had had since their conversation with Shinji the previous evening.

"Guys, kind of a random question, but… What do you all think of Shinji?" Pidge asked.

The other three Paladins stayed quiet for a moment, glancing back and forth between each other.

"He's, uh, kind of quiet. And intense." Hunk said, obviously trying to be polite.

Keith and Lance obviously weren't.

"He was a jerk to Shiro, so that's kind of skewing my opinion of him." Keith said.

"He's a way more emo version of Keith, minus the mullet." Lance added.

"I'm not emo." Keith said, pursing his lips together as he narrowed his eyes, glaring at Lance.

"Yes, you are. You wear fingerless gloves, we had to drag you out of Hot Topic, and aside from your favorite jacket and boots, pretty much every piece of your wardrobe is black. And I've seen your music collection, which consists of My Chemical Romance, Fallout Boy, Linkin Park, and Evanescence. Oh, and like one K-Pop boyband CD."

"Okay, all but the K-Pop CD came from Shiro, so blame him."

"For fostering your angsty taste in music? Definitely."

"Guys." Pidge said, voice flat.

"Uh, sorry, Pidge." Lance said. "Anyways, why are you asking?"

"It's just… Well, obviously he's going to be around for a while. And I know his first impression wasn't the best, but he's here now, so it wouldn't hurt for us to try and be friends with him?" Pidge said, offering a small, begging smile.

"I thought you hated this guy, Pidge, especially after what he did." Keith said.

"Look, yeah, I know I'm usually part of the 'If it looks at Shiro the wrong way, we need to destroy it' squad, but—"

"No, I'm talking about what he did to you, not Shiro." Keith said.

Pidge paused for a moment, then shrugged and said,

"I'm just trying to be the figuratively bigger person here. I was right all along. No reason to be a sore winner about it. And… I've been thinking about what Shiro said earlier. About everyone having a role as part of this team? Well, I'm not quite so sure Shinji's figured out what his role is. And he is Shiro's brother, so we should try to be nice to him if for no other reason than for Shiro's sake. He shouldn't make him feel torn between us and his brother."

Pidge was pleased to see the three disgruntled but accepting looks on Hunk, Lance and Keith's faces.

"Okay, yeah, that's pretty logical and you're right, we should give him a second chance, because we're good people, and he's probably a good person and it was just a bad moment. I mean, he did totally get tossed around in the Green Lion during a space battle only hours after the Galra invaded Earth. Totally understandable. Can't blame him for that." Hunk said. "Lots of stress, lots of emotions, don't always respond in a 'good' way…"

"We'll try, Pidge. For you and Shiro." Lance said. "Though that was totally not fair, you know. Using Shiro to guilt trip us. You know we'd do anything for him."

"I know. And I'm sorry. But, thanks, guys." Pidge said as the door to Blue's hanger opened and Shiro entered.

"Alright, Allura has made contact, and they're awaiting our arrival." Shiro said. "Pidge, Lance, ready to go?"

"Born ready!" Lance said with a grin.

"Have fun!" Hunk said as he and Keith prepared to leave the hanger.

"See you in a few hours." Keith said, waving over his shoulder.

Within minutes, the Blue Lion entered the planet's atmosphere and carefully entered the surface water, landing at the designated area, which was as close to the hospital as possible.

"What do you plan to do while we're gone, Lance?" Pidge asked, activating the lower part of their helmet.

"Unless you think anyone's going to be offended, I'm just going to chill here with Blue and work on a project." Lance said.

"Should I be concerned?" Shiro asked. Lance chuckled and pulled out a bag from a compartment beside him, showing Shiro the red yarn and knitting needles.

"Aw, red for your boyfriend?" Pidge said teasingly.

"Yeah, his birthday's next week. I may have kind of tricked him into picking it out while we were on Earth." Lance said. "Figured I'd work on his gift while there definitely wasn't a chance of him sneaking up on me all ninja like."

"Nice." Pidge said. "Enjoy."

"We'll be back in a few hours." Shiro said. "Contact us if you need anything."

With that, he and Pidge went to the ramp.

Pidge and Hunk had spent many hours trying to figure out the science behind the fact that the Lions could open their mouths and lower their ramps for the Paladins to enter and exit while underwater, but have absolutely no flooding inside the Lions' cockpits. The only water that entered was what fell off the Paladins' armor. The two finally conceded that there was no science, just magic robot lions and there was nothing they could do about it.

Jebbins was waiting for them, and greetings were exchanged.

"Our guest awoke earlier this morning, and has much improved." Jebbins explained as he led Pidge and Shiro into the hospital.

"Is he an aquatic species as well?" Shiro inquired.

"Yes, but he said it has been many years since he felt water last. Like us, he can function both on land and in water." Jebbins explained. "But I am of the understanding that his species thrives more in mud and swamp areas."

Jebbins escorted them up to the floor, but then a young female nurse took the Paladins to the patient, asking them to wait outside for a moment while she checked on him.

They entered a few minutes later to see a brown-skinned alien with big, round black eyes, gills around their neck and a few moss-green scales around their face, floating in a sort of long, shallow fish tank that was padded. When he blinked, studying the Paladins, his eyelids closed vertically instead of horizontally.

"You are Shiro, the Champion." The alien said in a raspy voice as he sat up some. "And Paladin of Voltron…"

"I am." Shiro said with a small nod. He gestured to Pidge, who was standing at his left beside him out of habit. "And this is Pidge, the Green Paladin of Voltron."

"Greetings, Shiro. Greetings, Pidge. I call myself Owla." The alien—Owla—said. "I am eternally grateful I landed on a friendly planet, one that is friends with Voltron. This has made my search and my assignment much easier."

"Assignment?" Shiro repeated, brow furrowing. Pidge saw him tense and shifted some, gently bumping their hand against his. It was a gentle reassurance, reminding him that they could call up their bayard easily if needed.

Owla nodded.

"I will tell you my story." He said. "I was taken prisoner some years ago, allowing myself to be captured in place of my younger brother, who tried to rebel against the Galra. I was selected along with some other prisoners to serve aboard a Galra cruiser. I was personally assigned to an officer, tasked with cleaning his cabin and various other tasks as assigned. A week ago, my… my master summoned me to his quarters in the middle of the night cycle, which was unusual. He dressed me in armor and gave me a bag with very specific instructions. He told me that the one known as the Champion was now the Black Paladin of Voltron. He told me to give that bag and its contents to you, so that you may have an opportunity to strike Zarkon and weaken the Empire."

"How?" Pidge asked.

"That, I cannot answer. He attempted to tell me, but we were running low on time. He had me enter an escape pod and eject as the ship entered a wormhole, which is how I ended up here." Owla explained.

"And your injuries?" Shiro asked.

"Other Galra soldiers found us…" Owla said sadly. "I was shot, and my master shoved me into the escape pod. I think they were searching for him in particular, and shot me by mistake." He rested his hand on his side, which was bandaged but supposed to be healing well.

"He was a double-agent?" Pidge suggested.

"That is my interpretation." Owla said. "However, I am looking at this in hindsight. Some instances and interactions with him make more sense now."

"Such as?" Shiro prompted.

"He selected me personally among the group of prisoners selected to serve aboard the cruiser, and all of our transgressions were known. At the time, he spoke of personally wanting to break me. To put me in my place. But he never did. Physically, mentally… He barely spoke to me." Owla explained. "There was one time I was struck, but he did not do as much damage as I had seen in other slaves. I wondered if it was just for show. He was also much quieter compared to his comrades. Secretive. He received communications on a regular basis. Most were late in the night cycle, when there was the least amount of activity on board. I assumed it was a lover or mate, but now… Now I am no longer sure of what I know. I just know that I was told to find you."

"What exactly is in this bag, and where is it?" Shiro asked. Owla pointed to the chair beside him, where a purple and silver bag lay.

"I know not what is inside." He said.

Pidge went over and scanned the bag using their wrist scanner. Their eyes widened.

"Shiro…" They said.

"Is it not safe?" Shiro asked.

"I… I think it is… Well, it's safe to open." Pidge said, looking up at Shiro, who was now behind them. "But, Shiro… I think there are grenades in this bag."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen:

"Okay…" Hunk said, biting his lip as he glanced down at the holopad, then up at the five silver spheres sitting on the dining room table. "So, yeah, these are definitely concussion grenades."

"So this Galra double-agent sent a prisoner out in an escape pod, hoping that he would somehow track down Shiro and give him a bag full of bombs?" Keith said from where he sat on the opposite end of the table, his brow furrowing.

"Not bombs exactly." Pidge said. "From what Hunk and I can tell, they won't exactly go 'boom' when they are set off. In theory, once activated, these grenades will release electromagnetic waves that will interfere with the frequency and functionality of certain tech."

"Um, like, spaceship tech?" Lani asked nervously. "Like, this spaceship? That we're on? Currently?"

"Probably not." Hunk said, reaching out and lightly popping Lance's hand before he could grab one, making him pout. "Ships made by different cultures are built and run differently. This is the only known Altean ship in existence, so the frequency of this ship is probably unknown to the person who put these together."

"So, more likely to be set for a Galra ship or something, right?" Tali asked. "Just toss one of these on a Galra cruiser, and it'll sink?"

"Galra cruisers are huge, and I think it would take some rather precise placing, depending on the range of these waves." Pidge said. "Besides, if we're on a Galra ship, it's because we're looking for something on it, like information or prisoners to rescue or whatever. One of these grenades would make a good distraction, but probably more trouble for us. But these could come in handy for taking out drones."

"Which means that they could work well with the target this double-agent gave us." Shiro said, referring to the thin slab that had Galran lettering and numbering inscribed on it that was in the bag with the grenades.

"You got it translated?" Keith said, sliding off the table to his feet.

Shiro nodded.

"Allura wants us all on the bridge." He said.

Five minutes later, they all were on the bridge and Allura brought up a hologram of a planet, with accompanying numbers that were the planets coordinates.

"This is Marth. It is an unpopulated forest moon, or, rather, has no native population. It appears that it is being used to manufacture Galra weaponry and drones, so there are a few Galra there who oversee the factory." Allura explained. "It is also the largest on-planet munitions factory and storage center within the Galra Empire, and is the only mass-producing drone assembly center."

"Its system is very close to the original Galra Imperial System." Coran added. "Don't even need a wormhole jump to get from the Galra Capital and official military base to get here."

"Official military base?" Shinji repeated.

"Zarkon has a space-station base that is where he spends most of his time." Shiro explained. "But has an 'official' base within the Galra Empire."

"It's essentially exists for aesthetic reasons." Lance said.

"Ah. The public base that's open to the public." Lani said with a nod.

"More importantly, the public 'face' of the Galra Military." Allura said. "I understand that it is much like your Galaxy Garrison, and includes a military education center."

"So, totally corrupt and full of lying idiots. Gotcha." Tali said.

"Which is why it's sort of low on our priority list right now." Shiro said. "But we're still keeping a close eye on it."

"There's got to be something bigger going on here." Pidge said, frowning at the holographic planet.

"How do you figure?" Keith asked.

"It's machine and Galra operated. No slaves." Pidge said. "The Galra enslaved the Balmerans to harvest crystals, we know there are slave labor camps. Even if this planet was entirely uninhabited before the Galra arrived, they could have brought in slaves. So why aren't there any? Especially when we remember that the only other place we've found so far that doesn't use slaves is the Galra's secret quintessence storage facility."

"In other words, what does Zarkon not want anyone other than a few trusted Galra and easily programed drones have access to?" Shiro said, frowning.

"Well, it'd be easy to find out, and the grenades make sense now." Hunk said. "If we use those grenades within the factory, that will totally mess with the drones and the other Galra weapons. And that's going to be a huge hit for the Galra, if we take out a whole bunch of their drones and whatever this big secret thing of Zarkon's is."

"Sounds easy enough." Lance said.

"Which usually means there's a catch." Keith added.

"Perhaps you are correct, Number Four, seeing as our anonymous friend wants us to take it a step further than just causing havoc, however." Coran said. Allura moved her hand and brought up the translated Galran text.

"Okay, if that first stream of numbers are coordinates… What are the others? A date?" Lani asked, frowning up at the displayed numbers.

"For nine days from now." Allura said.

"He gave us a specific date to attack the base?" Pidge said, brow furrowing. "Why?"

"Could be a trap." Keith said.

"You think everything is a trap." Lance pointed out. "But that may be where our catch is. Just how much are we going to trust this mysteriously cryptic Three-Gee and his presents?"

Everyone turned to him in confusion.

"What the quiznak is a Three-Gee?" Hunk asked. "Because I know you're not talking about cellphones."

"You know!" Lance said with exasperation. "Three-Gee!"

The confused looks continued. Lance huffed, frowning as he held up his fist, bringing up a finger with each word,

"Good. Guy. Galra."

"Oh!" Came the response from around the deck.

"Until we have more information, we can only assume that Keith is correct." Allura said. "We will continue on our present course in returning Owla to his home planet, but after that, I would like to gather more information about this planet to see if this could be a viable target or not. Pidge, would you be able to gather enough digital information on a flyby?"

Pidge frowned in thought.

"It'd be difficult." Pidge said. "And it may not be complete. I probably would run into issues getting into the more confidential information, but I should be able to gather enough info initially to determine whether or not a trip planet-side would be necessary."

Allura nodded.

"We may need the trip regardless to get a better idea of what we will encounter." She said. "I would prefer to get a closer and clearer look into what we are getting ourselves into."

"Especially since we know we'll definitely be outgunned, even taking out some of those drones." Shiro added.

"I have an idea of how to do that." Pidge said, grinning. "Hunk, I think we're going to need Scout for this mission."

"Scout is still in the Beta testing phase." Hunk pointed out. "We're not even entirely positive that Scout can pass without the right signature code and serial number."

"If we're going planet-side anyways, we can make sure both are correct." Pidge pointed out. "We'll take out one and use Scout as a replacement."

"Uh, what exactly is 'Scout'?" Keith asked.

"A reverse-engineered Rover, without default Galra programing, signature code and serial numbering." Hunk explained.

"Rover?" Tali repeated, arching an eyebrow.

"Ah, Rover." Lance said with a small sigh, before crossing himself. " _Descanse en piezas_ , brave little dude."

"Rover was Pidge's pet robot." Shiro explained, gently resting a hand on Pidge's shoulder at seeing the upset expression on their face at mention of their robot friend. He paused, then amended, "Well, one of many pet robots."

"They would have less if _someone_ didn't bring them back a new one every time we raided a Galra ship or base," Lance said, grinning, giving that particular 'someone' a teasing look, only to get a glare in response. "I just wish we knew _who_ that someone was…"

"Shiro." Keith said deadpan. "It's Shiro."

Lance narrowed his eyes at Keith then sighed, rubbing his forehead. Tali and Hunk snickered and Allura and Lani both grinned as Shiro's face turned dark while Pidge rolled their eyes.

"Keith, no." Lance said.

"Yes. It is. You said you wished we knew, but we all know, and it's Shiro." Keith said. Lance just shook his head.

"Why do I even try?" Lance asked, staring up at the ceiling.

"If you do go to this planet, how are you going to get there without Galra interference?" Shinji asked. "Wouldn't their radar or whatever pick up the Lions and the Castle?"

"Yeah, but they'll also recognize other Galra craft. Which is what we would need to use." Hunk said.

"So… Where are you going to get that?" Lani asked.

"Actually, we have one." Shiro said. "It's a long story, but the short version is Hunk and Keith hot-wired and stole a Galra podship a few months ago and we've been keeping it in our hanger for special missions. Smaller than a cruiser, bigger than an individual fighter, it could get us into the range of Galra craft without arousing too much suspicion or using the Lions, provided we use one of the codes that Pidge stole as verification."

"The problem with that is that we don't want to make the Galra suspicious and on high-alert if we're planning on going back a week later." Pidge said with a frown. "And since that factory is the only thing on the planet, we can't say we're doing shore leave or getting supplies or a prisoner drop off."

"Hmm, but there is something on Marth that we can claim to be coming for." Coran said. "The Taiocamia Falls."

Coran then adjusted the holograms to spin to a different part of the planet, zooming in on an area, showing a huge waterfall.

"It is said that the water Taiocamia Falls is infused with magic that allows for greater clarity of vision and enhancement of natural abilities. Many cultures who utilize magic have Seers that utilize the water for scrying. That includes the Galra Druids." Coran explained.

"What's scrying?" Lani asked.

"Seeing the future." Coran said. "Seers channel their magic into the water to display images of future events."

"So, we can say we're there under order of Galra Druids, which definitely works in our favor since we're not the only ones who are scared of them, apparently." Lance said.

"If we are in full agreement that a precursory visit to this planet is in our best interest, then we have two day cycles to prepare, followed by an additional seven cycles to process the information and decide if we will make a second visit." Allura said.

"That's a lot more time than we usually have." Shiro said. "Let's use it to our advantage."

"You two have a way better set up than what's at the Garrison and NASA combined." Tali said, looking around Pidge and Hunk's lab. "I'm kind of jealous."

"You're welcome to use it anytime." Hunk said. He had been very nervous ever since Tali had mentioned that she wanted to see the lab. Pidge knew that Tali had been one of his idols—the idol of many in the engineering department—at the Garrison, and desperately wanted her approval of the workroom he and Pidge had.

Frankly, you could tell that two very different people occupied the space. There was an almost invisible line that showed where Hunk and Pidge had divided the lab.

Hunk's side had neatly arranged tools and parts and drapes over projects that weren't being worked upon and it was just neat and tidy in general.

Pidge's side was the opposite. Motherboards were stacked on top of each other and there were things everywhere. Abandoned projects were half-buried in junk while there were rows of robots on the shelves, but in no particular order.

"I'd love to, if you two don't mind." Tali said, apparently deciding that Hunk's side of the room was safer and less likely to come crashing down if she breathed on it wrong. That, or it was that Hunk's side was much more familiar territory.

Lance once summed it up pretty easily: if it had large, interchangeable parts and you needed to refuel it, it was Hunk's domain. But if it had wires, lots of teeny-tiny pieces and could be programed, it was Pidge's. There was some things where they overlapped, and they could both easily figure things from each other's specialty, and the lab was full of examples of their collaboration. Still, it was clear that Hunk's interest and skill set was mechanics and engineering while Pidge's was robotics and computers.

"So, what does this thing do?" Tali asked, pointing to a certain tool, listening as Hunk launched into an explanation of all the new alien tools that surrounded them.

Pidge smiled as they listened, but when they turned around, they were surprised to see Shinji standing in the doorway, silently studying Pidge's side of the lab.

"You can come in." Pidge said, but Shinji didn't move. Pidge sighed and moved closer to him instead.

"How do you find anything in that disaster?" Shinji asked.

"It's not bad, all things considered. You've never seen my workroom back home." Pidge said. "And I know exactly where everything is. For the most part."

Shinji just nodded, then asked,

"So, which one is Scout?"

Pidge retrieved the triangular robot and held it out to him to see.

"Cool, huh?" Pidge said as Shinji studied it, stretching out a finger, then hesitated before he touched it, looking at Pidge for permission. With a nod, Shinji gently ran his finger over the robot.

"Yeah, it is kind of cool." He admitted.

"Wanna see Scout in action?" Pidge asked.

"Uh, sure, I guess." Shinji said, quickly pulling back his fingers, tucking them inside the pockets of his hoodie.

"Scout, activate." Pidge said, and the robot sprang to life in their hands, hovering in the air a bit and making happy beeping noises as a greeting.

"So, what does it do other than fly?" Shinji asked.

"The Galra use robots like this as security cameras mostly." Pidge explained. "But Scout is programed to override the access code of any door on Galra vessels and bases, as well as quickly access any data portals and store information. Scout is also a little more sentient and independent than the usual drone or droid the Galra use. Scout will follow orders from any of us, but will also act on their own accord if needed."

"But that hacking stuff, can't you do that?" Shinji asked.

"Well, yeah, but most of the time I can't fight and get data at the same time. I've lost a lot of data having had to abandon halfway through to save my skin or someone else's. And Scout's processor works much faster than my brain ever will." Pidge explained, grinning as the robot rubbed their cheek affectionately. "Alright, Scout, back to hibernation mode."

Scout rested in their outstretched hands before the lights went dark.

"You know, it's kind of an open invitation." Pidge said, deciding to offer an olive branch, as hard as it was to do so. "If you want to build anything, you're welcome to pretty much everything in the lab."

"I suck at building stuff from scratch." Shinji said. "Programing, hacking, I can do that. But I don't like building my own tech. Not my strong suit."

"That's fine." Pidge said, nodding. "But, still, offer's open."

Shinji studied them, eyes narrowing.

"You know, I've been given a lot of offers today." He said. "After you left, Keith offered to show me the training rooms. And Hunk gave me this translator thing so I could stop going crazy trying to learn to read Altean."

"You were trying to learn Altean?" Pidge said, surprised. "So the library's been where you've been hiding out, huh?"

"Don't know where else I'd be useful around here." Shinji admitted, shrugging. "Decided it was better to stay out of the way."

"Well…" Pidge said, biting their lip. "You know, Allura can't always train with us. So that means we only have five people doing practice hand-to-hand spars at a time, so someone's almost always sitting out. That's usually Shiro, because he is far more advanced than any of us and because he's usually trying to teach us and correct our forms or whatever while we spar. But, if we had a sixth person who trained with us regularly, someone who is probably closer to Shiro's level… That'd be really good." Pidge grinned. "Maybe someone other than Allura can beat your brother for once."

Shinji hesitated.

"I don't know…" He said.

"Come on. Kicking each other's butts on the training deck is an important bonding time ritual around here." Pidge said. "You don't have to join us all the time."

Shinji was quiet, studying Pidge suspiciously.

"Well… I guess I could at least try it out." He said.

"Great!" Pidge said. "We're meeting up after breakfast tomorrow morning. We won't have our armor on or use our bayards for that part, so just come in whatever workout gear you want to wear."

"Okay." He said, nodding. He looked at Pidge, opened his mouth to say something, then apparently changed his mind and turned to walk away. "Good night, Pidge."

Pidge watched him leave, and, with a jolt, realized that this was the first civil conversation they and Shinji had ever had.

They just hoped that meant that there would be more to follow.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen:

Pidge was a little surprised that Shinji actually did show up.

He stood nervously at the doorway, watching as the Paladins stretched. Or, perhaps more accurately, as Lance contorted his body in almost impossible ways and the others looked on in a mixture of awe and disgust in how flexible he was.

"You guys watch me do this, like, every day." Lance pointed out, while in a full split and his nose brushing against the mat, arms stretched out in front of him. "Don't know why it still weirds you out."

"Because we're still trying to figure out if you actually have, you know, necessary body parts. Like joints." Hunk said.

"And bones." Keith added. "I'm pretty sure only some of those creepy puppets on strings can do what you're doing right now."

"Lance is a noodle, and there is nothing we can do about it." Pidge said, adjusting the headband keeping back their bangs.

"Hey, do yoga with me and you, too, can achieve noodledom." Lance said, moving his legs behind him and easily shifting into a push-up position.

"Not going to lie, noodledom looks seriously painful." Hunk said.

"It isn't." Lance said, moving so that he was now just supporting his entire weight on his hands, tucking his legs up, knees in line with his shoulders. "And with the flexibility and calm mind, comes balance and grace."

"Really, Lance?" Shiro said, arching an eyebrow as a small smirk grew on his face. "So where was that grace and balance a month ago when you tripped over that downed drone and face-planted, breaking your nose?"

Lance frowned at Shiro before sticking out his tongue, then put his feet back onto the mat and stood up.

"Well, technically," Lance said, now stretching out his arms. "That doesn't count. I didn't know it was there. And I was trying to avoid getting shot, thank you very much."

"You got shot, too." Hunk pointed out.

"Ugh, it was just a graze! Didn't even need a healing pod!" Lance insisted.

At this point, Pidge happened to glance at the door, then did a double-take when they realized Shinji was actually there.

"Oh, hey, Shinji." Pidge said.

Shiro turned and looked over at Shinji, a bit surprised to see him there.

"Uh…" Shinji said. "Pidge invited me."

"He can be our sixth person today, since Allura is busy." Pidge said. "Sorry, Shiro, I forgot to tell you."

"That's fine." Shiro said, giving his brother a smile. "Come on in and get warmed up."

Shinji did so, though still looked a bit hesitant.

"Pidge says that you need a challenge, Takashi." Shinji said.

"Did they now?" Shiro said, now arching a brow at Pidge, who laughed.

"Yes, and you know it." Pidge said. "Allura's the one who can and has thrown you across the room before, and you still beat her the last three times you sparred."

"And Allura does not go easy on us. You especially." Hunk said.

Shinji grinned suddenly and mischievously.

"It sounds like you haven't had a worthy opponent in a long time, Takashi." Shinji said. "Problem for you is, neither have I."

"That's a lot of talk." Shiro said, returning Shinji's grin. "Let's see you put your money where your mouth is."

"Gladly, Onii-San." Shinji said.

"One piece of advice, Shinji, before you two go all ninja on each other." Lance said from the mat, where he was once again in a pretzel-like position. "Avoid the metal arm. It hurts like a quiznak when you hit it."

"Still don't think you're using that word right." Keith said.

"Shut your quiznak, Keith."

A few ticks later, Shinji and Shiro stood across from each other. Then, silently, slowly, Shinji lowered himself into a bow, Shiro following suit before both fell into stances.

Pidge, Lance, Keith and Hunk watched silently from the side, wondering which brother would make the first move.

Shinji ended up moving first, rising up onto his foot to send a kick towards Shiro's left shoulder, which was dodged by Shiro dropping to the ground, sending out his own leg towards Shinji's, which he neatly avoided, ready to keep going once Shiro had stood up again.

The movements started initially slow, but soon became blurs of kicks, blocks, dodges, chops and punches.

But the movements were still discernable enough that the four Paladins noticed something important, a difference in their leader's fighting style.

"It's not a fight for survival." Keith muttered. "See how Shiro's stance has changed?"

"His muscles are more relaxed." Hunk pointed out. "You can see that there's less tension in his back, neck and shoulders."

"It's almost like they're dancing instead of dueling." Lance said. "It's both beautiful and intimidating."

Pidge momentarily took their eyes off of Shiro to study his opponent, and realization washed over them.

"He's mirroring Shinji." Pidge said. "He didn't start that way, but he's mirroring Shinji's fighting style."

"Never seen him do that before." Keith said.

"It's gone past five minutes." Hunk observed, glancing at the stopwatch in his hand. "Shiro's never gone past five minutes, even with Allura. Not without there being a clear sign of who's winning."

"Should we stop them?" Keith asked.

"No way. They're both having too much fun." Lance said.

Unfortunately, the match came to a draw when Allura entered the room a few minutes later and called the spar to an end, apologizing and explaining that she needed to confer with Shiro over some aspect of their plan.

However, neither seemed too upset in how the spar ended, both seeming rather pleased with their own skill with a distinct respect for the other's skill as well.

"We're going to need a rematch." Shiro said as he quickly gulped down some water from where he and Shinji sat on the floor, both a little exhausted but still very happy.

"Technically, we'll need a few more, if we're calling this one a draw." Shinji retorted with a grin. "Unless you want to just concede defeat now."

"Never." Shiro said, reaching out with his left hand and affectionately tousling Shinji's hair, making the younger boy's grin grow some more. Shiro then pushed himself up off the floor. "Alright, I'll be back in a few ticks. Hunk, Lance, I want you two to go next while I'm gone."

"Got it, boss!" Lance said, giving Shiro a salute as he and Allura left. The door closed and the other four Paladins all instantly turned to Shinji, who looked a little surprised and uncomfortable at the four pairs of eyes suddenly on him.

"Uh, what?" Shinji said, brow furrowing.

"Dude, that was seriously cool!" Hunk said.

"We've never seen someone have a draw with Shiro without there being explosions involved!" Lance said, who was literally bouncing with excitement. "You've seriously got to teach us all that, man!"

Shinji gave a small smile as he pushed himself up off the ground.

"I'm surprised Takashi hasn't already taught you all of those moves." Shinji said. "I think he's holding out on you guys."

"From the looks of it, Shiro was learning as he was watching you." Keith said.

Shinji's smile disappeared into a confused frown.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"After those first few moves, Shiro started mimicking you and your fighting stance and moves." Keith explained. "He changed his fighting style to match yours."

Shinji shook his head some as he said,

"No. No, he didn't. Takashi has always fought like that. We learned from the same sensei, same dojos, and we're same belt level. Our sparring styles have always been similar."

The five teens stared at each other in confusion, until Pidge's eyes widened with an, "Oh!"

"Pidge? What's wrong?" Hunk asked.

"We've got it backwards." Pidge said. "Shiro's fighting style didn't change to match Shinji's just now. It reverted to match his own from before he was a Galra prisoner. He changed his fighting style sometime between Kerberos and now. But now that he's faced an opponent who fights like him—or like he used to—he remembers and muscle memory kicks in."

"Are you saying that Shiro may have had one of his flashbacks without the, you know, flashback?" Lance asked brow furrowing. Pidge shrugged.

"Only explanation I have." They said.

"Well, uh, that was convenient." Hunk said.

To the surprise of the Paladins, Shinji left the room without a word.

"What was that about?" Lance said, staring at the doors as they slid shut.

"Should we go after him?" Keith asked.

"I'll go." Pidge said. "I invited him, so I should go after him."

They took off, calling after Shinji, making him pause before he turned down the hall.

"What?" Shinji demanded as Pidge jogged up to him.

"Why did you leave just now?" Pidge asked. "I thought you were enjoying yourself."

"Why do you care?" Shinji asked sharply, eyes blazing.

"Uh, 'cause I invited you and people usually don't go from really happy to storming out without saying anything like that without something being wrong." Pidge said.

"Something is wrong." Shinji snapped, gesturing widely. "This whole thing is wrong! Aliens and evil emperors and robot lion spaceships… It shouldn't exist. And yet it does, and now everything in the entire universe is so screwed up beyond recognition. Absolutely nothing is the same anymore! Not one single thing!"

"Look, you're still in the adjustment period." Pidge said. "Trust me, we still are adjusting, too. It takes some time and it's hard to accept sometimes. And that's okay."

"No, Pidge. It's not okay." Shinji said, glaring down at them. "It's really not. Stop trying to pretend it is. Just because you've accepted it doesn't mean I should."

With that, he turned and stormed away, leaving Pidge alone in silence.

Which, Pidge thought as they watched him leave, was becoming too common of an occurrence.

"Oh. Em. Gee." Lance said, unable to hide his smile as Keith entered the hanger. "You look like a kid playing dress up!"

"Shut up, Lance." Keith snapped, adjusting the Galran armor that was starting to slide off his shoulders.

"I'm serious! You're drowning in that uniform and it's so McFreaking adorable." Lance said.

Keith let out a low warning growl. Lance held up his hands defensively.

"Hey, taking a moment to remind you that part of making sure this grand plan works is to get you riled up enough to get you turning purple." Lance pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm a still a little worried that it's not going to work." Hunk said.

"Hunk is right." Allura said with a frown. "Keith has never purposefully tried to shift into his Galra form before, or even pass as a full-blood Galra."

"It'll either work or we'll make a hasty retreat." Shiro said. "But the fact that none of Zarkon's soldiers have seen Keith during one of his shifts can potentially be beneficial, and this is the best test of it."

"I've not really ever tried to hold the shift before, either." Keith pointed out with a frown.

"But the angrier you get, the longer it holds." Pidge said, double-checking their tool bag.

"Which leads to my next concern," Hunk said. "How exactly are we going to do that? And everyone still be friends by the time this mission is over?"

"Hey, I set a fabulous example of how to do that." Lance said, folding his arms over his chest.

"No, you were just annoying rather than actually making me mad." Keith said.

"Queue no one being surprised." Pidge said, closing up their bag again. "Not with the way you two go at it somedays."

"Alright, fine." Lance said. "Tell us, Keith, what grinds your gears enough to go Galra?"

"Verbal and or physical attacks on any one of you." Keith said without hesitation.

"Yeah, no, not doing that." Shiro said just as quickly. "Next."

"I've got an idea." Tali said from the crate she and Lani sat on in the corner of the hanger. She suddenly grinned wickedly, hopping off the crate and striding forward to stand in front of Keith. "Hey, Keith. I forgot to tell you something that happened while you were gone."

"What?" Keith asked suspiciously.

Tali's smile grew before she said the words that made Keith go very pale before very purple.

"The Patterson-Gimlin film has finally been disproven."

"WHAT?!" Was Keith's outraged reply

"What is the Patterson-Gimlin film?" Lani asked in a side whisper as the others joined her, deciding to stay out of the cross-fire.

"Basically, these two guys caught Bigfoot on tape, but a lot of people think it's fake." Pidge said. "It's the second most reviewed footage in history. But no one has been able to prove or disprove that it is a real Bigfoot in the film."

"IT CAN'T HAVE BEEN A WOOKIE COSTUME, GEORGE LUCAS DIDN'T START WRITING STAR WARS UNTIL 1973, AND THE FOOTAGE WAS RECORDED IN 1966! AND THE ORIGINAL CHEWBACCA DESIGNS LOOK ABSOLUTELY NOTHING LIKE THE SASQUATCH IN THE FOOTAGE! EVERYONE KNOWS THAT EXCEPT FOR THESE SO-CALLED EXPERTS WHO CAN'T EVEN KEEP TRACK OF BASIC HISTORY!"

"Oh dear, he is rather… passionate…" Allura said, biting her lip some.

"And that is why he is the Red Paladin." Coran said.

"Well, considering that we know know other galaxies totally exist and so do aliens, technically a galaxy far, far away can also exist, and apparently some aliens have encountered other humans before." Hunk said. "So if we take into account that one-shot comic where Han Solo and Chewbacca crash on Earth, Han is killed by Native Americans, leaving the seemingly immortal Chewbacca alone to roam the American forests, thus establishing the Sasquatch legend. So, it could very well be—"

"DON'T YOU FINISH THAT TRAITOROUS SENTENCE, HUNK!" Keith yelled, his eyes completely yellow now and ears flat against his skull, sharp teeth exposed as he growled.

Hunk held up his hands and wisely decided that now was a great time to hide behind Shiro.

"The Patterson-Gimlin film is the most solid proof of the existence of the Sasquatch, and so many have tried to disprove it and failed." Keith said, turning back to Tali. "This is another failure. The theory doesn't hold up and I can't believe that there are actual idiots out there who—"

"Okay, Keith." Shiro said, stepping over and carefully putting his hand on Keith's shoulder to get his attention. "How about we go now and while we're gone, you can do a draft of a strongly worded e-mail to these, er, so-called experts for when we get back?"

Keith said nothing as he started to head towards the ship, grumbling and snarling as he went.

"That armor is still falling off of him." Lance commented in a low voice.

"The lack of height should not be an issue over a communication device." Coran said. "Well, with luck and a good positioning of the visual conveyance lens."

"If all goes well, we'll be back in a few hours." Shiro said. "If it doesn't… Uh, then wish us a lot of luck."

The podship full of Paladins dropped out of the wormhole, which Allura would re-open in three hours' time. As they were concerned about any communication transmissions being caught by the Galra, everyone's timing would have to be precise.

They had unanimously decided it was best to let Keith pilot the ship, both because he had done so before and because of the role he played in the plan. The plan was to let Keith do all the talking while the others stayed out of sight and hoped for the best.

So, as they approached the planet, Keith took a deep breath, adjusted the helmet covering the majority of his face once more, then opened the communication channel.

"Podship Delta Six-Zero-Seven Alpha to Marth base to request landing rights."

Another Galra appeared on the screen in front of Keith, looking a little irritable and confused.

"State your business." The Galra demanded.

"I have been sent personally by a Druid of the Inner Circle to acquire water from the Taiocoma Falls." Keith responded.

"Very good." The Galra said, nodding, but his voice sounding like it was the opposite. "Which Druid is it?"

Keith stiffened, as did the others, who exchanged nervous looks.

They hadn't expected that.

"What do we do?" Lance mouthed to Shiro.

"May I ask for what purpose, sir?" Keith asked, trying to keep his voice even and calm.

The Galra on the other end of the communication link made a disgruntled noise.

"Ignorant cadets." The Galra said with a snarl. "Fresh from the Academy, I see. Let them sharpen their claws on a milk run. Bah! Foolishness and a sign of weakness. Listen here, cub, I do not know how you managed to make it into the guard of the Druid Inner Circle, as you clearly have forgotten all of your basic procedural training. My purpose in asking is to simply keep track of who sent your orders and keep a basic record of all comings and goings on this planet. I do not know how it is done with the Inner Circle, but you are in my territory, and you will make my job much easier. Name, cub, now!"

Keith momentarily froze, glancing over at Shiro at the right time as the Black Paladin's eyes momentarily widened, then he whispered one word,

"Haggar."

"Haggar." Keith repeated, louder.

Keith wasn't sure if he should enjoy the horrified look on the Galra's face as he straightened and looked panicked.

"My apologies." He said. "I was not—If I had known… Please, forgive my insolence and do not mention this incident to the Witch. You have your landing rights. You do not need to report your leaving. Vrepit sa."

"Vrepit sa." Keith responded, and the video link closed.

Keith let out a breath and slumped back in the seat, taking off his helmet as the others got out of their hiding places.

"That was a close one." Pidge said.

"Too close." Shiro said grimly.

"Which one is Haggar again?" Hunk asked.

"The one you refer to as the 'Scary Lady'." Shiro said, shuddering slightly.

"Wait." Lance said, his eyes widening. "She literally has 'hag' in her name? No wonder she's evil, who the heck does that to a kid? That's like super-villain backstory material. I'd grow up to be a scary witch, too, if I got a name like that."

"Isn't Scar from 'The Lion King' actually named garbage or something?" Pidge said. "And Mufasa means 'king'? So two lions named their sons 'king' and 'garbage' respectively and didn't expect one would try to kill the other to gain power?"

"Well, the main character, who is a lion, has a name that translates to 'lion', too, so…" Hunk said. He cut himself off and shook his head. "We need a movie night."

"Let's focus on the mission at hand for right now." Shiro suggested as Keith landed the podship. With that, Pidge brought up the map on their tablet for holographic display.

"Well, it's a two mile hike, but it doesn't look too bad." Pidge said. "Just a few small hills."

"Lead the way, Guardian Spirit of the Forest." Lance said, making a dramatic sweeping gesture and a bow towards the door.

The journey started out well. While Pidge focused on the map, Hunk focused on a radar that scanned the nearby area, ensuring that they didn't encounter any Galra or drones.

"Uh oh." Hunk said suddenly, stopping dead so that Keith walked into his back.

"Uh oh? What's 'uh oh'?" Lance asked as he quickly grabbed Keith's shoulders to keep him upright, as the oversized Galra armor had put him off balance.

"Something big is headed our way, from that direction." Hunk said, pointing.

"Bayards out." Shiro ordered, almost unnecessarily, the sounds of the bayards shifting and Shiro's hand activating almost unheard as they all suddenly picked up on the sounds of something large and heavy heading their way.

"That can't be a Galra, or even a couple of them." Lance said over the noise.

"But it's not metallic or mechanical sounding either." Keith said.

Suddenly, Pidge's eyes widened.

"Guys, were we counting wild animals when Coran and Allura said this place was unpopulated?" They asked.

The answer came suddenly as a large animal came barreling through, huffing and snorting. It was like a wooly mammoth, but longer, and with a thin, pointed mouth instead of a long trunk, full of sharp teeth with claws on its eight feet, and a long, barbed tail. It pawed at the ground angrily before getting up onto its rear legs and roaring, coming crashing to the ground while trying to take a swipe at Lance, which he managed to duck just in time.

"We don't want to hurt it!" Shiro called.

"I don't think it feels the same about us!" Hunk said, his eyes wide.

"We just need to scare it off." Keith said as he ducked, then swiped at the beast with his sword, making sure to keep a few inches of air between the blade and the monster. "We don't need the Galra here to find a carcass full of laser fire."

"What got it mad at us in the first place?" Pidge yelled as they dodged another leg.

"We're fresh meat and he's hungry?" Lance suggested, blasting at the ground beside the monster, making it quickly scuttle backwards with roars as it tried to avoid the lasers.

"We could just be in its territory." Shiro called out.

"Maybe there's babies nearby?" Hunk suggested as he and Lance continued to shot at the ground, carefully trying to send the monster back into the woods.

The monster roared and swung out its tail, hitting Pidge, sending them flying and hitting the ground, rolling some.

"Okay, bad move, dude." Lance said with a snarl at the monster, purposefully aiming at the monster's foot just a little closer than before, this time the monster getting a little scorched. Not enough to cause a wound, but enough to know exactly what he was up against.

The monster roared at the four standing Paladins before trampling off back into the forest.

"Pidge! You alright?" Shiro asked as he and the others ran over to Pidge, who was pushing themselves up into a sitting position.

"Yeah." Pidge said with a grunt. "Armor and helmet took most of it."

"Need a hand up?" Shiro asked, offering Pidge his hand. They accepted it and allowed him to help them to their feet.

However, they didn't even get to stand before stabs of pain went up their right leg.

"Ah!" Pidge cried out, sinking to the ground again, eyes squeezed shut.

"What's wrong? What hurts?" Hunk asked, he and Shiro instantly on the ground beside them while Lance dug out some water and the first aid kit.

"Ankle." Pidge said through gritted teeth. "Right leg."

Shiro gently took Pidge's hand as Hunk carefully felt Pidge's ankle. Pidge hissed in pain a little.

"Well, it doesn't feel broken. You probably just twisted it." Hunk said reassuringly. "But there's no way you should try to walk on it the rest of the way there and back."

"Alright, so, Pidgey-back-rides." Lance said with a grin, distributing the water packets. "I call first!"

"Actually," Keith said. Everyone turned to look at him at that point, but Pidge was pretty sure that they were the only one who saw the quick mischievous gleam in Keith's eye. At that, Pidge suddenly and unexplainably felt dread. "Tactically speaking, Shiro would be the best person to carry Pidge. In case we face that monster again or we meet another one. Since Lance and Hunk need both hands for their bayards and might not be able to do that to the best extent while protecting Pidge at the same time. And this Galra armor is already throwing off my balance so…"

Pidge felt all the blood drain from their face.

No. They knew exactly what Keith was doing. Yeah, sure it was totally sound logic, but still.

But Keith was also the only one who knew about their crush on Shiro.

And apparently, suggesting that Shiro give an injured Pidge a ride on his back like they were a five year old was his attempt to wingman.

And, of course, Shiro agreed with Keith's tactics nine times out of ten.

Pidge had silently hoped that this was one of those one out of ten times.

But it wasn't, so that is how Pidge ended up on Shiro's back, trying very hard not to turn red and silently planning Keith's murder.

"You alright?" Shiro asked, glancing over his shoulder at them as he walked. "I'm not going to drop you, you know."

"Y-Yeah, I'm good. Thanks. Sorry." Pidge said, relaxing their arms around his neck and shoulders some.

Keith glanced over his shoulder and Pidge saw him smirk before he turned his head again.

Yes, Pidge decided, Keith was going to pay dearly for this.

Perhaps he knew that.

But he would never know how.

And, more importantly, he would never know when.

When they got a short distance from the base, they set up camp, Hunk and Pidge sitting on the forest floor surrounded by equipment. Lance and Keith disappeared for a short period of time, returning with a serial number and a cloned signature code for Scout. Once Scout was prepared, all five got closer to the base to prepare for the switch

This was the part of the plan where things got a bit tricky.

"Let's go over the plan one more time." Shiro whispered as they observed the triangular robot. "Lance, you find a safe, out of range location to turn into a sniper's nest. Keith, you'll go with him to guard his back. Hunk will direct Scout to come up behind the other droid. When Hunk gives the signal, Lance will shoot the bot and Pidge will activate Scout before the other bot can be hit."

"Remind me again how the Galra won't figure it out?" Keith mumbled.

"Panorama shot which will automatically crop to exactly what the other bot is currently seeing, and hold it just long enough for Shiro to retrieve the busted bot." Pidge said.

"Then we get the heck out of dodge." Hunk added.

"Alright," Lance said, starting to carefully move back out of the hiding spot. "I'll let you know when I've found the perfect spot."

It didn't take too long after that for Lance to report in, saying that he was in position.

Hunk and Pidge quickly got to work while Shiro got into his own position.

"Hold… Hold…" Hunk muttered, eyes focused on Scout as the little droid hovered in the air. "Pidge, you ready?"

"On your mark." Pidge responded.

"Lance?" Hunk asked.

"Target on sight and ready." Lance responded.

"Shiro?"

"Ready and awaiting your signal." Shiro responded, his voice a little lower than the rest.

"Alright then." Hunk said, taking a deep breath. "Three… Two… One… Go."

Everything happened in a blur.

The moment before Lance's laser-bolt struck the surveillance droid, Pidge activated Scout, who promptly seized the other droid's frequency. The picture of the empty area held for exactly fifteen ticks, just enough time to Shiro to run, snatch up the droid, and silently return.

"Pidge? How'd we do?" Hunk asked, looking down at Pidge, biting his lip.

"Missions successful." Pidge reported, looking up at Hunk with a grin. "Let's get out of here and let Scout do their job."

"And get you into a healing pod." Shiro said as he started to help Hunk pack up the last of the equipment, stashing the now-fried droid in a bag.

"It's not that bad, Shiro," Pidge groaned, silently accepting him helping them onto his back. "Hunk, you're team medic. Tell him it's not that bad. And that I could probably walk back now. My ankle's feeling better."

Hunk scoffed as he slung the bag over his shoulder.

"Yeah, no. I've heard that from you before, although that's usually about sleep. Anyways, not risking it, Pidge." Hunk said as they started walking. "You're not walking until we get back to the Castle, at least. And get a second opinion from Coran, too."

Pidge groaned and pouted, resting their chin on Shiro's shoulder.

Though they had to admit, they were starting to enjoy this 'Pidgey-back ride' a lot more now.


	18. Chapter 18

Happy Winter Solstice!

Chapter Eighteen:

Despite Pidge's assurances that they were fine, that didn't stop the involuntary hisses of pain and grimaces that came as Coran gently inspected their ankle.

"Well, you definitely have a sprain." Coran said, gently lowering Pidge's leg to the exam table. "However, the only thing you can do is rest it. Can't use the healing pods for this type of injury, I'm afraid."

"So it would have been better if I had broken it? Because then I could have used the healing pod? Is that what I'm understanding?" Pidge asked as Hunk brought over an icepack.

"Rather odd, but yes." Coran said, affectionately ruffling Pidge's hair. "But not to worry, Number Five. A few days of rest, ice, compression and elevation should do the trick and you'll be back on both feet in no time at all."

Pidge nodded, wincing some as Hunk carefully applied the icepack from both the cold and the pressure.

"Well, that just means I'll be able to keep a better eye on whatever info Scout sends over." They said.

"And the rest of us will go lighter on the training." Shiro said from where he stood as the head of the exam table, arms folded over his chest. "No need for anyone else to get hurt or overexerted if we're planning a big attack in a few days."

"You hear that, Keith? Don't try to beat your top score with the gladiator until after the mission." Lance said as he and Keith entered along with Allura, Lani and Talli.

"I thought Keith had a scathing e-mail to write." Hunk said as he started to wrap Pidge's ankle.

"Yeah… Funny story about that…" Tali said with a small smirk.

"She lied." Keith said irritably, pointing at Tali.

"Yeah. Yeah, I lied." Tali said, nodding, folding her arms over her chest. "You guys wanted him angry, right?"

"I'm kind of surprised you didn't see through it, Keith." Pidge said.

"You knew it was a lie and you didn't say anything?" Keith exclaimed, looking at Pidge with a betrayed look.

"Hey, Tali's right, we needed you angry." Pidge said with a shrug. "And now we know for future reference that in order to do so again, all we have to do is to express doubt about the existence of your other boyfriend, Mothman."

"Mothman is real." Keith said, folding his arms over his chest. "With more than sufficient data and eyewitnesses."

"Alright, that's enough." Shiro said. He glanced at Allura, holding a tablet. "I take it you've already have some information from Scout?"

"Indeed." Allura said, holding the tablet flat in her hands so that it displayed a hologram of the base. "We now have a complete floor plan, including ventilation shafts, elevator shafts, and precise locations of crucial electric and water mains as well as all access codes."

"I can easily program a few more droids with those access codes; if we need to split up, we can use those to get anywhere inside." Pidge said.

"Hey, wait a second," Hunk said, frowning as he looked up at the hologram. "Is part of the base underground?"

"Looks like it." Lance said, tucking his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Doesn't that just scream 'top secret lab'?"

"Best place to work on a top secret weapon." Pidge pointed out.

"That area is not accessed by code alone." Allura said. "It requires taking an elevator that goes to that location only, and that is located in the base commander's office, in addition to a few other security checkpoints."

"You can see where water and electricity are supposed to go down to that area." Shiro said, using a finger to point, trailing down one of the holographic walls. "But they aren't shown on the display."

"Scout's preceptors might not pick up on what's going on down there, either because it's underground and that limits tech most of the time signal-wise, or whatever's down there is worth protecting is purposefully blocking out all tech from getting a glimpse." Pidge said.

"That is concerning." Coran said with a frown, absently scratching his chin. "Up until now, the Galra have had no real challengers. They would have no reason to develop such security measures. And if so, there would definitely be trial and error or so quickly crafted to be installed and used against any potential invasion from the Voltron Paladins."

"So whatever is down there, Zarkon is really taking no chances, even with how confident he is in that the Empire will stand." Keith said.

"Wait, the date you were given, could that be the day for a pick-up or a delivery?" Lani asked. "Either dropping off something to do with the weapons created in that lab, or a pick-up of whatever they've made?"

"That's a really good theory." Shiro said. "Pidge, can you see what information Scout can gather about that day, especially incoming landings?"

"Easily." Pidge said with a nod. "I could probably even track down any incoming ships' last known location. Or, more importantly, figure out their last unknown location."

"You talking about the secret quintessence storage base?" Lance questioned.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about." Pidge said.

"What's quintessence?" Tali asked.

"Life force magic." Allura explained. "It is what powers the Lions and forms the bonds not only between Paladin and Lion, but also the bonds between all of the Paladins and their Lions in order to form Voltron."

"For all intents and purposes, that stuff is a bioweapon in the hands of the Galra." Hunk added. His eyes suddenly widened. "Oh no. If they're working with quintessence down there, that usually means that there's a Galra Druid or two with it. What if the commander mentions that we came for the water, and the Druids call to confirm?"

"Well, with any luck, they'd be just as scared of the Druid we named as the commander was." Lance suggested.

"Except he didn't call her a Druid." Keith said, frowning some. "Coran, Allura, are 'Witch' and 'Druid' interchangeable terms?"

"No." Coran answered as he started to put away some of the medical supplies. "The Witch is the highest ranking Druid, perhaps the most powerful person in the Galra Empire aside from the Emperor."

"How did you know the name of the Witch?" Allura asked. "I have been looking for that information for months."

"Shiro." Lance said, nodding his head in Shiro's direction. "Lucky for us, he came up with her name just in time."

"Remember Scary Lady?" Hunk asked.

"I vividly recall the Galran druid woman who was absolutely terrifying." Allura said with a solemn nod. "That is her, then? That is not surprising."

"You've actually fought this Witch?" Tali said.

"Uh, fought but not necessarily beat the Witch." Hunk explained. "Did I mention she is really scary?"

"Yeah, well, like I said, she doesn't have much choice, given her name." Lance said. "Get this, her name is literally Haggar. I mean how can—"

Lance cut himself off at the sound of a huge crash across the room, that made everyone jump.

Coran turned around slowly, a pile of equipment at his feet and his eyes wide.

"No." He said. "She can't still be alive! Well, that is just not fair!"

"Not fair?" Pidge repeated. "Wait, Coran, you know her?"

"Unfortunately." Coran said irritably. "She was rather high on the list of people I was glad to never have to deal with again after ten thousand years of cyrosleep. Now I have to rearrange the entire list!"

"Coran!" Allura exclaimed, half shocked, half scolding.

"Now, Princess, look me in the eye and tell me that there is no one that you are not secretly pleased that you will never have to see or speak to them ever again." Coran said, holding up a finger at Allura.

Allura frowned and was quiet for a moment, not looking at anyone, then said,

"Well, alright, yes, there are a few, but I would not say so out loud!"

"Well. At least the predominately reptile-esque robobeasts now make sense." Coran said, now picking up the items he had dropped onto the floor. "She always had an odd passion for lizards. And experimentation."

"Yeah, figured that latter part out." Shiro said, unconsciously curling his right hand into a fist.

Coran stood up again at hearing the whirring noises from Shiro's arm, then looked at it, then him.

"She did that?" He asked.

"I'm pretty sure, yes." Shiro answered.

"And you escaped her?"

"At least twice."

Coran suddenly smiled.

"I can only wonder why Zarkon keeps thinking he'll win." He said. "If you can beat the Witch, Zarkon is easier to beat than a baby snorkak."

"Yeah, but we still have to beat her. Somehow." Keith pointed out.

"There we go!" Hunk said, finishing the wrapping around Pidge's ankle. "How does that feel?"

"Tight, but not too tight." Pidge answered. Hunk nodded and affectionately ruffled their hair.

"Let's get you to your room and comfortable." He said.

"I wanna carry the Pidge!" Lance said, throwing his hand in the air, but rushing over to Pidge's side before anyone could approve or deny his request. He crouched down, back to Pidge, and said, "Climb aboard!"

Pidge smiled and did so, putting their arms around Lance's neck, giggling some as he stood up. They waved to an amused Shiro, Tali, Allura and Coran as Lance carried them out of the room, Hunk, Keith and Lani following.

"Do you have everything you need in your room, or do you want us to get stuff out of the lab?" Hunk asked.

"I'll need some stuff from the lab." Pidge said.

"Give us a list and we'll deliver." Lance said.

They got Pidge settled in their room, and Lance fretted about the room and Pidge while they made their list.

"Are you hungry? Thirsty?" Lance asked, gently fluffing up Pidge's pillow for them. "Anything hurt?"

"I'm a little thirsty, but the pain meds haven't worn off yet." Pidge said, handing their tablet to Hunk with the list.

"Hot or cold?" Lance asked.

"I wouldn't mind some tea?" Pidge said after a second of thought.

"I'll go make you some." Lance said, gently patting Pidge on the head.

"And Hunk and I'll go get the things on your list." Lani said, standing on her toes to look over Hunk's arm to look at the list he was reviewing.

"I know where most of this stuff is." Hunk said. "Won't take too long. We'll be back in a few."

"Thanks." Pidge said with a smile. "You guys are the best. Sorry to be trouble, though."

"Not your fault you got hurt." Keith pointed out from where he stood at the foot of the bed, arms crossed over his chest.

"Keith, you're Pidge-sitting!" Lance called as he, Hunk and Lani left the room.

As soon as the door was closed, Pidge reached over and grabbed a small screw that was sitting on their nightstand and threw it at Keith.

"Hey!" Keith exclaimed as the screw hit his shoulder. Not enough to hurt, but definitely a surprise. "What was that for?"

"You know exactly what that was for." Pidge said, narrowing their eyes at him.

Keith suddenly had a Cheshire-cat grin, and Pidge almost wished he was in Galra form to complete the look.

"I don't know what you're talking about…" He said innocently.

"Then let me remind you." Pidge said. They then adopted an imitation of Keith's voice, " 'Oh, tactically speaking, Shiro is the best person to carry Pidge'."

"It was tactical. In more ways than one." Keith said. "And you liked it, didn't you?"

"Ugh, Lance is a bad influence on you." Pidge said, folding their arms over their chest with a frown.

"You liked it!" Keith said in a sing-song voice. "You liked being on Shiro's strong, manly back, as he heroically carried you through the woods to safety, protecting you…"

"SHUT UP!" Pidge squealed, grabbing the pillow behind their head and throwing it at Keith, who was laughing too hard to even really care that it hit him in the face.

"Would it make you feel better to know that Shiro seemed to like it too?" Keith asked, still snickering. "He practically had you on his back before I even stopped explaining my logic. And he freaking carried you all around the Castle when we got back. In his arms! That's prime bonding moment time right there."

"Well, at least both of us remember it." Pidge shot back. They sighed and rubbed their forehead. "Look, Keith, I appreciate your intentions, but don't try to wingman for me. I told you, I'm not even sure if he likes me like that."

"And I told you, I think he does." Keith said.

"Keith!" Pidge groaned. "Look, don't. Just don't."

Keith frowned and hesitantly took a step closer to Pidge.

"Alright, I'm sorry." He said. "I won't do it again."

"It's okay," Pidge said. "I do appreciate it, really."

"But, for real now." Keith said, gently poking Pidge's arm. "You did enjoy it, didn't you?"

He got his answer when Pidge's face turned redder than his Lion.

And Keith was a man of his word. He wouldn't try to wingman for Pidge again.

At least, not until he had a chat with a certain Black Paladin.

Later that evening, Pidge had been resettled in their room after dinner and a strategy session that involved using dishes and sporks as visual aid objects.

They were settling in for a bit of data-sifting, then planned to actually go to sleep at a decent hour. They hadn't been doing that for very long when they heard a knock at the door.

"Come in!" They called. They had been expecting one of their teammates, most likely Lance or Hunk, both of whom got very Mother Hen like when anyone was injured or sick. So it was a bit of a surprise to see Tali there.

"Oh, hey Tali." Pidge said, putting away the tablet. "What's up?"

"Came to check on you." Tali said, sitting at their feet, doing so carefully so as to not jolt Pidge's elevated ankle. "And, I was wondering if we could talk."

"Oh, yeah, sure." Pidge said, feeling a little confused by the expression on Tali's face. It was mostly blank, but Pidge saw the sadness in her eyes. "Of course we can talk. What's wrong?"

Tali hesitated, playing with the end of Pidge's blanket, then said,

"You know, it's not just Keith I'm mad at for just dropping all communication with me."

"You're mad at me?" Pidge asked cautiously.

"Well, maybe mad is not the right word. But… After Kerberos… Maybe it was stupid, but I kind of hoped that we could have still kept up a friendship. That we could talk. And grieve together." Tali said. "After the memorial service, I decided I wouldn't initiate contact with you. I guess it was survivor's guilt. I should have been on the mission and I wasn't. I didn't know if you hated me for that."

"What? No, Tali, no!" Pidge exclaimed. "No, I could never hate you!"

"I wasn't sure if you did or not." Tali said again. "I could have helped you, you know. Sneak into the Garrison. Or I would have vouched for you as Pidge Gunderson or something."

"I didn't know you had left the Garrison." Pidge admitted, now realizing that she had chosen the wrong ally in her mission, wishing she could go back in time and talk to Tali instead of Shinji. "I didn't know that you'd want to help. That you'd believe me when I said something wasn't right. Besides, I didn't want to get you in trouble. You know the President of the United States gave me and my mom full pardons for all the actions we took to get me into the Garrison? He had to give an executive order so that no one would charge my mom with anything when things got revealed, too. I had to hack into so many things, and broke so many laws. Social security numbers, school records, medical records… I had to fake it all. It was an absolute miracle I didn't get caught. Mom helped the best she could, but we both knew the risks. I couldn't involve anyone else. I was already running the risk of ruining my life, I couldn't do the same for one of my brother's best friends."

"I get that." Tali said with a nod. "I guess… I guess what I'm trying to say is, I missed you, kid. I thought I lost more than two friends after Kerberos and…" She cut herself off with a sigh.

Pidge stretched out their hand for Tali to take, and was glad when the older girl did so.

"I'm sorry, Tali." Pidge said. "I really am. But, we are still friends, right?"

Tali grinned, and moved down the bed to hug Pidge.

"Yeah, of course we are." She said. She released Pidge from the hug and grinned at them. "Thanks. And, I'm sorry, too."

Pidge suddenly grinned evilly.

"You know, when we find Matt, he's going to absolutely hate that you, me and Shiro have been on a ship for an extended period of time." They said.

"And why is that?" Tali asked.

Pidge's grin grew.

"Why, the shared amount of blackmail we're going to have on him, of course."

Tali's eyes gleamed.

"Now you're talking." She said, settling in beside Pidge for a long session of exchanging stories and laughing.

It wasn't how Pidge originally planned on spending their evening, but it was even better.

Shiro wasn't surprised to have Keith enter the training deck after dinner. It wasn't unusual at all. They both tended to gravitate towards the training deck so naturally, and this was the time they both usually took to spar against each other.

Shiro caught a glimpse of Keith out of the corner of his eye—waiting patiently against the wall, arms folded over his chest—and called out,

"End session."

The gladiator shut off and Shiro mopped sweat off his face with the upper part of his shirt.

"You want to spar, Keith?" Shiro asked, his breathing a bit labored from the recent spar.

"I was actually hoping we could talk." Keith said. Shiro frowned but nodded, wondering what was on Keith's mind.

"Something bothering you?" He asked, grabbing a water pouch.

"Yeah," Keith said. "Do you like Pidge or not?"

Shiro tilted his head, completely thrown off by the question.

"What?" He said. "Of course I do. We all like Pidge."

"Yeah, but do you like Pidge?" Keith asked, stressing the word 'like'.

"As in?" Shiro prompted, feeling lost.

Keith huffed a second then said,

"Are you in any way romantically attracted to Pidge to the point of proclaiming to be in love with them?"

The water packet slipped out of Shiro's hand, mouth gapping open as he stared at Keith, feeling his cheeks heat.

"What?" He said, unable to make his brain form an actual sentence. "I—What—I don't—"

He knew his cheeks were completely red as Keith only arched an eyebrow and he forced himself to say,

"No."

"No?" Keith repeated.

"No." Shiro said, firmly.

"Then you mind explaining what the hell happened in our last battle?"

Shiro froze, suddenly unable to look at Keith.

"Shiro, we do have to talk about that." Keith said. "That wasn't a flashback. It was worse than that."

"It won't happen again." Shiro said. "I promise."

"I'm not blaming you for what happened. I would have been the same way if it was you or Lance, you know." Keith said. "Now, you wanna be honest and tell me how you really feel?"

Shiro sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Look, I… I really don't know." He admitted. "And I wish I did. It's like as soon as I got really comfortable and accepting that I'm ace, I'm suddenly hit with this… I don't know what it is. How to describe it. I don't… With Pidge it's… I just want to hold their hand and hug them and listen to them talk about tech stuff. But that's really all."

"Alright, so that's all commonly accepted romantic stuff." Keith said with a nod. "Just because you're ace doesn't mean you can't be romantically attracted to a person."

"I know that." Shiro said. "The problem is… I don't know how I love them."

"What do you mean 'how'?" Keith asked. "Seems pretty straightforward to me."

"I mean, I don't know if it's as a friend-slash-team-leader-slash-older-brother's-friend-slash-surrogate-brother love or if it's let's-date kind of love." Shiro said.

"Isn't half the point of dating to figure out if you love someone or not?" Keith asked.

"You're missing the point here." Shiro said. "I'm four years older than they are. They're fifteen, I'm nineteen."

"I'm pretty sure there was a time period where girls were really glad that the guy who liked them were only four years older than them." Keith pointed out.

"Yes, but that's not the point!" Shiro said. "Right now it's… It's weird and awkward and I don't know entirely where I stand. I don't want them to be uncomfortable or wreck the team dynamic."

"Forget the team dynamic right now." Keith said. "Forget Voltron. Forget the Galra. Forget we're in space. Forget all that."

"Keith, believe it not, my amnesia is not that selective."

"Just… Humor me, okay? Pretend all that stuff isn't real for just a few minutes and pretend you're on earth and everything is all unicorns and rainbows or whatever, and then think about how you feel about Pidge and all that stuff."

"Keith, I can't… I just, I can't do that." Shiro said with a sigh. "Because it doesn't matter how I feel about Pidge, they will never feel the same about me, so I might as well not even bother."

Keith briefly looked off to the side with an annoyed look, then turned back to Shiro.

"Why?" He asked, voice almost painfully calm and neutral. "Why do you think that?"

"I told you," Shiro said. "I'm older than they are, and Head of Voltron and just their brother's friend."

"Yeah, you told me all that." Keith said, nodding some. "So what's the other reason?"

"What other reason?"

"The one you don't want to admit out-loud."

Shiro pressed his hand to his forehead, eyes closed.

"Because I failed." He said. "I couldn't protect Matt and Commander Holt. I have no idea where they are, or if they're even alive, and it's my fault… So… when Pidge got shot down, I… I thought I had failed the entire Holt family."

He opened his eyes when he felt a hand on his arm, seeing Keith looking at him with concern in his eyes.

"Shiro, you weren't the leader of the Kerberos Mission. Commander Holt was." Keith said. "You protected Matt at the arena. You did your job during that fight, even if it took you a few minutes to remember that. You didn't fail the Holts, you didn't fail Pidge. You've protected all three of them the best you could. Whatever happened, it's not your fault. Everyone knows that. Pidge knows that."

"Maybe…" Shiro said. "But I… I can't. Pidge wants to find their father and brother. I'm going to help them do that the best I can. After we find them, then I can figure the other stuff out."

Keith moved his hand off of Shiro's arm to put it on his hip.

"I'm going to be blunt here." He said preemptively.

"I don't expect you to be anything but." Shiro said.

"Pidge is my friend." Keith said. "I care about them a lot. And you're my best friend, and I care about you a lot. But until you figure out if what you've got for Pidge is as a friend or as something more, don't lead them on."

"Lead them on?" Shiro repeated, brow furrowing and suddenly panicking internally. "Have I…?"

"Not yet. But you're getting there." Keith said. "Look, Pidge is intelligent. So super scary smart. Yes, they're small and young, but they are essentially doing an adult's job out here. They're mature. They make their own decisions about their life, but have also had to make some tough decisions about the lives of others. They're going to catch on eventually that you feel something for them, if they haven't already. I'm just worried that if, when you figure our your feelings, and they've figured out theirs, that one of you is going to get your heart broken. Maybe even both. I love you both too much to see either of you go through that."

Shiro nodded in agreement, although a small part of the back of his head was both mildly amused and horrified at getting what was essentially a shovel talk from Keith, but also insanely proud of him that he had found so many people to care about, who cared about him.

"Alright." Shiro said, giving the younger male a smile. "Thanks, Keith."

Keith nodded, looking a little pleased with himself. He gave a sudden squawk, though, as Shiro ruffled his hair.

"Come on," Shiro said. "One ten minute spar, shower and bed?"

Keith grinned.

"You're on." He said.


	19. Chapter 19

**Happy New Year!**

Chapter Nineteen:

Keith woke up warm and happy, curled up on his side with Lance's arms around him. He smiled with his eyes half-lidded, slowly falling back down…

 _No, need to get up._ He thought.

So, reluctantly, he started to push away the blankets. Only for Lance's hand to move and grab the blankets, pulling them back.

"Hngh. Go back to sleep, Keith." Lance mumbled, pressing a kiss to Keith's head.

"We've got to get up." Keith said. "Breakfast. Training. Going over the plan…"

"We've got all day tomorrow for the plan. And Shiro told me that he didn't want to see any of us until after zero-nine hundred hours Castle time. Ya know. On account of it being a holiday."

Keith shifted in Lance's arms, turning onto his side to face Lance.

"What holiday am I forgetting?" Keith asked, arching an eyebrow in confusion. Lance's grin grew and he stretched a hand out to rake his fingers through Keith's hair.

"Silly." Lance said. "Pretending to forget Intergalatic Keith Kwan Day."

Keith felt even more confused.

"Huh?" He said.

Lance chuckled and kissed Keith on the forehead, right between the eyes where his brow was furrowed.

"Happy birthday, Keith." Lance said, pulling Keith to him and covering his face with more kisses. Or, he tried to, at least, as Keith decided that the best way to prevent that was to push his face against Lance's chest.

Neither one was particularly complaining as they went back to sleep.

"You guys didn't really have to do all this for me." Keith said at breakfast, which was all of his favorites.

"Uh, yeah, we did." Hunk said.

"No, you—" Keith started, but Lance cut him off.

"Keith, how did you spend your last birthday?" He asked.

"Um, exploring the desert looking for Blue." Keith said.

"And the birthday before that?" Allura asked.

"Got up, went to classes, Tali and Matt set Shiro's bed on fire and then we ate cupcakes." Keith said.

"Our point exactly, therefore we—Wait, what?" Hunk said, cutting himself off from further explaining the point as everyone looked back and forth between Keith, Tali and Shiro for an explanation.

"Okay, so, Matt and Shiro had to go off Garrison grounds for something to prep for Kerberos that week, right?" Tali said. "So, the three of us said, 'Hey, Keith's birthday is coming up, we should get him some cupcakes to celebrate'. So while Shiro and Matt were off Garrison property, they bought and smuggled in cupcakes. Except what Shiro didn't know was that Matt also got a pack of birthday candles."

"The Garrison doesn't allow candles." Shinji pointed out. "Because they don't want a bunch of teenagers accidentally burning the place down."

"Yeah, we didn't let a little thing like that stop us." Tali said. "But what Matt forgot to grab was a pack of matches or a lighter or anything like that. So Matt sent Shiro to go find Keith, and he and I tried to figure out how to light them. And the only thing we could come up with was this portable welding tool I had."

"Oh no." Hunk said. "I think I see where this is going."

"They got the candles lit, but they forgot to put the tool in a safe place to cool. That very unsafe place just happened to be Shiro's bed." Keith said, grinning. "Needless to say, it was quite a surprise to walk in to see Matt and Tali frantically hitting Shiro's bed to put the fire out. Shiro was pissed. Fortunately, it was just the top blanket that got scorched."

"Even more fortunate, we got it out before the fire alarms went off." Tali said.

"There was no way to explain the burn mark to the Garrison laundry." Shiro commented. "And Tali had the nerve to suggest that we 'burn the evidence'."

"A perfectly valid suggestion." Tali said with a shrug. "What we ended up doing was Matt systematically modified the thing so that it was completely destroyed the next time it was washed, and Shiro had a new blanket by the end of the week. No harm done."

"Dang, and I thought we got up to shenanigans at the Garrison." Lance said, looking impressed. "All of it pales in comparison…"

"You misunderstand," Shiro said. "It's Matt and Tali's shenanigans, and I just got dragged along as the voice of reason."

"That's about eighty percent true." Tali said with a nod.

"Dude, I feel ya." Hunk said with a nod. "So, uh, we were going to make a point about how we wanted to make this birthday special for you, Keith, and right now I'm glad we didn't go with 'memorable' because there's no way we're going to be able to top Tali and Matt on that one."

"Pidge, does that sound like a challenge to you?" Lance asked, turning to look at Pidge, who nodded, grinning.

"Why, yes, Lance, that does sound like a challenge." Pidge said.

"I don't know what either of you are thinking, and frankly I don't want to." Shiro said, giving them both stern looks. "So no. Just… No. Whatever it is, no."

"Fine…" They both said with feigned sighs.

Keith was pretty sure he was the only one who caught Lance mouthing the words "next year" across the table at Pidge, who nodded and mouthed the words back.

Although he was unused to and a little embarrassed by all the attention, Keith knew for certain that his friends had already made his birthday special.

Pidge walked into the large library, wondering what part of it Shinji could be holed up in.

They found him easily enough, though, in a back corner, surrounded by paper books and dozens of tablets as well as a few empty mugs.

"Hey," They said. "We're going to watch a movie. Keith picked _Lilo and Stitch_."

"Interesting choice." Shinji commented, not looking up. "He doesn't strike me as a Disney movie kind of person."

"Keith's a big fan of the Disney Post-Renaissance films." Pidge said. "So, you want to join us?"

"I probably shouldn't." Shinji said, flipping the page in his book, then holding the translator screen over it. "I'm kind of an outsider, if you haven't noticed."

"You don't have to be." Pidge pointed out.

"Have you considered that maybe I want to be an outsider?" Shinji asked, looking up at them with a frown. "I don't plan to be on this ship for very long."

"Well, you're kind of stuck with us until we make it back to Earth, and who knows when that'll be." Pidge said.

"Hopefully, soon." Shinji said, ducking his head back down.

Pidge couldn't help but laugh at that.

"What?" Shinji demanded, glaring up at them.

"You're usually so pessimistic." Pidge said. "So, to hear you say anything remotely hopeful and positive is kind of weird. I'm not an expert, but I think it'll take us a while to get this war done and over with."

"Yeah, I guess." Shinji said with a shrug. "I still think we'll be back on Earth soon."

Pidge tilted their head to read Shinji's screen.

"What are you reading about?" They asked.

"I'm not exactly reading as much as I'm researching." Shinji explained. He lifted his head, lowering the translator screen and turned to Pidge. "Hey, how much research have you guys already done on the Lions and the previous Paladins?"

"Not much, to be quite honest." Pidge admitted. "Usually, our information about them comes from experience, Allura or Coran. Allura admits she doesn't know everything, and Coran definitely knows more than her. I mean, he'd have to, if he was King Alfor's advisor and King Alfor was a Paladin."

"Yeah, I guess." Shinji said with a nod. "It's just… It's weird."

"What's weird?" Pidge asked.

"Well…" Shinji marked his place then flipped the pages back. He pointed to where Altean symbols were scratched out almost viciously. "You see that? Every time the author of this book mentions one of the Original Paladins by name, it's crossed out. This book's like a mission log or something, so while it's often 'whatever-color Paladin did this-and-that' or something similar, the few times the names are written they're crossed out. I started this looking for information about the Lions, but after that other day when Hunk, Keith and Lance tried to do that mind-melt—"

"Meld." Pidge corrected.

"Whatever," Shinji said. "When they tried to do that with their Lions and the Blue Lion said nothing about her first Paladin, and none of them said what happened to split the original Voltron apart."

"Weird." Pidge said with a frown. "Maybe after this mission, Shiro and I can try to meld with our Lions. See what reaction we get."

Shinji frowned at that and went back to his previous page.

"Pidge… Is this mission really a good idea?" He asked.

"We think so, based on the data we've gathered." Pidge said with a nod.

"Truly necessary?"

"Yeah."

"And you've done stuff like this before."

"Oh, yeah, dozens of times now."

"And it's one-hundred percent safe?"

Pidge blinked and tilted their head, studying Shinji.

"It's safe, isn't it?" Shinji asked again when Pidge didn't respond instantly. "Everyone comes back in one piece?"

"Maybe with a few battle wounds, but that's nothing for a healing pod." Pidge said. "Nothing unusual for us."

"Mmm." Shinji said, disbelief evidence in the disapproving hum he gave.

"Everything will be fine, Shinji, even if there's a few bumps in the road." Pidge said. "I promise."

Shinji looked up at them one last time, eyes narrowed.

"I'm holding you to that, Pidge." He said. "Go enjoy your movie."

Pidge left the room, suddenly very concerned that they had made a major mistake.

"Double-check rations?" Hunk said as he held up a tablet with a list.

"Rations double-checked." Pidge said, showing Hunk where they were in a compartment in the Green Lion.

"Whole supply list double-checked?" Hunk said.

"List double-checked." Pidge confirmed.

"Alright." Hunk said, checking that off, then went and pressed the button for the intercom. "Allura, we've got everything we need. Ready to jump when you are."

"Everyone to the deck, then." Allura responded over the comm.

Hunk and Pidge were the last two to arrive and quickly found their seats.

The plan was for them to wormhole jump and have the Castle hidden behind one of Marth's moons while the Paladins took the Green Lion down to the planet's surface, utilizing the cloaking system.

Thanks to Scout, getting in and avoiding Galra patrols and security droids was no problem.

Also thanks to Scout, they had learned that in addition to a mysterious drop-off, the ship would be picking up a supply of drones.

The plan was fairly simple, and involved splitting up. Lance would guard Pidge and Hunk while they were in the control room and tried to figure out how to get into the secret basement lab while Shiro and Keith caused a distraction, namely in using the grenades to short-out the drones for pick-up.

Once Pidge, Lance and Hunk were hidden outside the command room, Pidge whispered into their helmet,

"Shiro, Keith, we're ready for Distraction Number One."

They knew it worked moments later when the base commander exited, snarling and cursing in the Galran language as he strode towards the hanger. A quick biothermal scan showed that only drones were left in the room and Pidge was more than happy to let Hunk and Lance take care of them while they got a head-start on downloading information from the main computer.

"We're in position and ready for Distraction Number Two." Lance reported moments later.

"Copy that." Shiro said.

"How much longer, you two?" Lance asked, eyes not moving from the door.

"Only a few more ticks." Pidge answered. "Allura, Coran, how are things going on your end?"

"No sign of an incoming ship or wormhole yet." Allura responded. "But given the vessel's estimated arrival time, it should be any—"

Allura's voice was cut off by a sudden, sharp gasp over the communications link.

Pidge looked up and turned around, looking to see if the sound came from either Hunk or Lance, but they were both just as wide-eyed and confused as Pidge.

That's when they heard Keith's voice over the comms.

"Shiro? Shiro!" Followed by a noise of frustration and in the distant background, Pidge thought they heard Shinji say 'Takashi?'.

"Something's wrong with Shiro!" Keith said after a moment.

"Do you have visual?" Allura asked.

"Yes, and he's clutching his arm… Galra one… Oh… Oh no… Pidge, Hunk, I need one of you now!" Keith said, the urgency in his voice increasing.

"I'm coming." Pidge said, heading for the door without another word, bringing up the panel on their wrist that displayed the energy levels in Shiro's arm as well as it's inner mechanisms.

"Pidge, I think the grenades interfere with Shiro's arm!" Keith said with a grunt and Pidge could hear the sound of something dragging against the ground, and they were pretty sure that something was Shiro.

"I think you're right," Pidge said, frowning as the mechanisms went haywire. "Hold on, I'm going to attempt a hard-reboot. And, Keith, I mean this very literally, hold on to Shiro."

"What does that mean?"

Pidge didn't even have time to react to the fact that it was Shinji's voice that asked that question, and simply listened to the sound of the thuds and grunts followed.

"I told you to hold on!" Pidge said, half complaining, half defensive. A 'Hard reboot' of Shiro's arm meant not only turning it off, but withdrawing the connectors that were attached to Shiro's nerves, making him able to move it. It also turned the arm into dead weight.

"Yeah, just be glad I got us into this supply closet before you did that." Keith said with another grunt. "Sending you location now."

Fortunately, Pidge didn't have much farther to go, quickly slipping in to see Keith kneeling beside Shiro, who sat up against the wall, helmet beside him, grimacing in pain and shaking some. His lower lip was bleeding, and Pidge's heart and stomach started to ache, realizing that they hadn't heard many sounds from Shiro a little too late. He had been suffering in silence. Or attempting to.

Keith had been holding Shiro's left hand in his own, two fingers pressed to the inside of Shiro's wrist.

"His pulse is erratic." He told Pidge.

"I'm fine." Shiro said.

"No, you're not." Came the echoed response from Pidge and Keith.

"I don't even want to know how many volts you were just hit with." Pidge said.

Shiro suddenly had a small grin.

"Probably enough to power _Volt_ -ron." He said.

Pidge and Keith narrowed their eyes at him and exchanged a look where they decided to say nothing.

"Shiro, is anything hurting right now?" Pidge asked, kneeling down beside him. They hovered their hand over Shiro's right hand and frowned at the heat there; it was usually warm for a little while after he lit the hand up, but this was extremely hot even for that.

"Head. Chest. Arm." Shiro got out, breathing heavy. "Not in any particular order."

"I don't get it, nothing went wrong when we set off the first one." Keith said.

"You set off the first one, Keith." Shiro said. "Must have been out of range. But I set off the second one…"

"And, apparently, your arm is set at the same frequency as a Galra drone." Pidge said as they carefully removed pieces of armor off of Shiro's arm. "Allura, we're going to need back-up, and Keith, I'm going to need your knife."

Keith passed his knife to Pidge while Allura promised to be there as quickly as she could. Pidge then cut Shiro's sleeve up to where his prostethic met flesh. They frowned as the fabric tried to seal together again; while it was nice to have self-repairing armor, at this particular moment it was more annoying.

"Keith, hold this for me." Pidge said, letting Keith grab hold of the material before digging out their tools. Pidge winced at the heat that was still radiating from the arm when their gloved fingers touched it, but quickly got it opened and did what they needed to do, which was trigger the release mechanism to remove the arm. Shiro let out a small sigh of relief as Pidge removed the arm and both Pidge and Keith grimaced at seeing the stump and the burns that covered it.

"Yeah, I don't need to be team medic to say that's going to need a healing pod." Keith said, reaching for his pack of first-aid materials.

"Roger that." Coran said.

Pidge pulled a water packet out of their supplies, stuck a straw in it before giving it to Shiro with strict orders to drink it all.

"Okay, guys, what are we going to do here?" Hunk asked through the comms. "Are we going to see this through or do we get out of here A-Sap?"

"Oh, well, uh, that is a decision that has to be made rather quickly." Coran said.

"What is it?" Allura asked.

"Er, that wormhole that wasn't supposed to open for another twenty ticks? It just opened."

"Oh, come on!" Lance exclaimed. "That's not fair! Allura, ETA?"

"I'll be in the base in few ticks." Allura responded. "I say that we continue on with our original plan, only I take Shiro's place in it."

"I don't like the idea of leaving Shiro alone and, uh, unarmed." Pidge said, looking down at Shiro's arm lying beside them. "In more ways than one."

Shiro started snickering.

"Nice one…" He said. "I'd offer you a high-five but you've got my hand…"

"And, he's totally out of it…" Keith said with a sigh. "Look, we still don't have a clue what's going on in this place. If we don't find out today, that can come back to bite us tomorrow. We've got to see it through."

"My part was going to be from the control room." Pidge said. "I can do it just as well in here with Shiro."

"That should work to everyone's advantage." Allura said.

"Alright, let's get a move on." Lance said. "The faster we get this done, the faster we get Shiro back to the Castle."

Keith left the room and Pidge secured the door after he left. Bayard sitting beside them, Pidge sat against the wall alongside Shiro so that he could see what they were doing. He ended up leaning a little too far and his head ended up resting on theirs.

Pidge looked up at him.

"You alright?" They asked. "Pain getting better or worse?"

"Feel dizzy, but I'm sitting down…" Shiro said. "Pain… Pain isn't that bad. Really. Have had it worse."

Pidge swallowed. They were sure that was true.

"Your blood pressure is probably low. That's why you're dizzy." Pidge said. "That happens sometimes after an electrical shock. We just need to make sure that doesn't impact your kidneys. That and making sure that it didn't destroy any of the tissue and nerve endings in your arm."

Shiro nodded some.

Pidge reached into their belt again and pulled out some crackers with peanut butter between them, quickly tearing off the plastic.

"Eat one of these, it should help." Pidge said. Shiro took the cracker and ate it while watching Pidge work, quickly closing the hanger as the ship's commander spoke with the base commander. While Pidge was with Shiro and Keith, Hunk had managed to hack into the software that all of the drones were programed with, putting all those drones into the hands of Pidge, who proceeded to round up any other living Galra within the base and ship, while the others took care of the hanger.

"Hey, Pidge." Shiro said a bit sleepily as it became clear that it was a Team Voltron victory and the Castle began to land nearby.

"Yeah?" Pidge said.

"Thanks. For everything." Shiro said. "For coming and for staying with me."

"No problem," Pidge said, reaching over and gently patting his knee. "I'm just glad I was able to."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty:

Shiro spent the rest of the day in a healing pod, but everyone was glad to know that—while the injuries were bad—by the time Shiro's session was over, he would be perfectly healthy again.

"I imagine that it would be much worse if it hadn't been for your quick thinking and the hard reboot, Pidge." Coran said as he finished adjusting the settings on the healing pod, Pidge standing beside him as they watched Shiro's eyes close and his breathing even out as the session began. "As it is, he should be out just in time for some dinner."

"That's great." Pidge said. "Coran, can you tell if the nerve endings in his arm are damaged? Particularly the ones that make his arm able to function?"

"We may need to test the functionality after he pops out, but otherwise I don't see any indicator that there's too much damage." Coran answered. "Now, speaking of that arm, how bad is the damage?"

Pidge sighed.

"It's going to take a day or two to fix." They said. "Which, is probably actually a good thing. Amputees aren't supposed to wear their prosthetics as long as Shiro does. It's incredibly difficult to get off, too, and I'm just glad that we did figure out how to get it off."

"For repair reasons?" Coran asked.

"That, and a couple other reasons." Pidge said. "You're supposed remove a prosthetic before bathing and sleeping, but Shiro doesn't like that; he's always on high alert in case we're attacked. But I think the psychological reasons are more important."

"Ah." Coran said with a nod. "It isn't permanent."

"Exactly." Pidge said with a nod. They sighed and adjusted their glasses. "Coran, I'm going to go back to help the others."

"Unless you need me, I'll stay here with Shiro." Coran said.

Pidge nodded, and prepared to leave the infirmary when they saw Shinji standing at the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, arms folded, eyes on the healing chamber, mouth set in a scowl.

"You can come in, you know." Pidge said.

To their surprise, Shinji actually did so.

"I thought you said that this mission was safe." He said evenly as he walked past Pidge, going to stand in front of the pod, staring at Shiro.

"I also said battle-wounds aren't unusual." Pidge said. "Shiro will be completely healed in a few hours."

"Will he?" Shinji asked, his eyes going from the scar across Shiro's face to where the sleeve of the healing-pod suit dangled limply at Shiro's right side.

Pidge opened their mouth, but Coran cut them off.

"Go on ahead, Number Five." He said. "I'll answer any questions Shinji may have."

Pidge was pretty sure that the one Shinji had just asked was a rhetorical one, but didn't tell Coran that.

Instead, they left; they were well aware that their presence was only going to make things worse.

"The burns are not too severe." Coran told Shinji. "And while he may be a bit dehydrated when he emerges, his kidneys escaped any damage. He'll be back to one-hundred percent by tomorrow morning."

"No, he won't." Shinji said, not turning to look at Coran. "He won't ever be one-hundred percent again." Then Shinji hesitated, and looked over his shoulder. "Will he?"

Coran looked at both of the brothers, one in front of the other.

"No." He said after a moment. "I suppose not. Not in the way you once knew him."

Shinji turned his back on Coran again.

"I guess these things can't fix scars, then." He said.

"Not for a lack of trying." Coran admitted. "Shiro's never asked, but the few times he's been in these pods, Allura and I have tried to lessen the amount of scar tissue around the stump and across his face in particular." He studied Shinji for a moment. "Would you like to see how the pods work?"

"Not particularly." Shinji said. He hesitated, then said, "But I do have some questions. You might be the one with the answers."

"I can certainly try." Coran said.

"This bond thing, that Takashi and the others have with the Lions and each other… What happens when it's broken? Are they no longer Paladins?" Shinji asked. "Or do the Lions, I don't know, stop working for them or something, and they have to find a new pilot?"

"Depending on the cause of the bond's breaking, it is possible for the Lions to reject their pilots. If the Paladin takes a course of action that the Lion does not agree with." Coran said.

"Is that what happened with Zarkon?" Shinji asked.

"No." Coran said, both quickly and harshly, so that Shinji turned to look at him with a bit of surprise. "No. Zarkon broke the bond with his Lion purposefully. And even then we're not even sure how severed it is. Zarkon has on one occasion gained control of the Black Lion. His bond with the Black Lion was very strong, strong enough to temporarily sever the bond that was only still in the early phases with Shiro."

"And… what would happen if Zarkon did take control of the Black Lion again?" Shinji said, being very careful in the phrasing of his question. "And what would happen with the Lions and the other Paladins if he did? Would the Lions have to find all new Paladins for a new team?"

"'Fraid I can't give you a straight answer there." Coran admitted. "I'm not sure what would happen. But previous experience seems to indicate that the Lions prefer having one team at a time; you can't replace a Paladin that easily and expect the machine to run as smoothly, both in the literal and metaphorical sense. May I ask why you're making these inquiries?"

"I just want to understand how this magic stuff is supposed to work." Shinji said. "It sounds a little complicated."

"In some ways, it is." Coran admitted. "But I believe that in other ways, it is the most simplest, naturalist thing in the universe."

"Maybe it is. But it's still kind of weird." Shinji said.

Nevertheless, he was planning on putting his newly-gleaned information to use.

He was going to get his brother back to Earth, and soon.

But first, he was going to need to track down a new Blue Paladin.

Or, perhaps more accurately, the old Blue Paladin.

Pidge approached Hunk, who was probably enjoying himself a little too much, making the Galra drones fetch everything from the ship and bring it into the hanger. He had previously been on guard duty while Allura, Keith and Lance forced the living, furry Galra into the Castle and into cyropods as prisoners of war. No one particularly liked having the cryogenically frozen Galra inside the Castle, especially after the Castle's invasion back on Arus, but they detested the alternatives, which were to either kill the Galra, let them go free, or maroon them the planet.

"So, what is this stuff?" Pidge asked Hunk as they stood next to him, standing on their toes to peek over his arm at his tablet, while also looking at the large cylinders filled with purple… well, goo but not quite goo. Definitely not the edible stuff.

"This is what the top-secret basement lab has been working with." Hunk said. "Based on the info I gathered, this stuff is enhanced quintessence. It's, like, five times more deadly than regular quintessence."

"Okay," Pidge said. "Any idea how they make it or what they use it for?"

"Not so sure about how to make it, but definitely know what it's being used for." Hunk said. He tapped a button on his tablet and the information appeared on Pidge's holographic wrist computer so that they can look at the same thing. "Actually, you and I have messed with this stuff a little before."

"We have?" Pidge said, frowning up at their friend. Hunk nodded.

"Yep." Hunk said. "Look."

Hunk brought up the lab log.

Pidge's eyes widened as they scanned it.

"No way…" Pidge said. "This is the stuff that powers Shiro's arm! Shiro's arm was built here!"

Hunk nodded again.

"And Sendak's." He said. "See? The Witch Haggar placed the orders for both the arms. Apparently, Shiro's was the prototype and Sendak's was a later model."

Pidge nodded, remembering hearing Sendak taunt Shiro, making a comment about how Shiro had spent times with the Druids and their experimentations. Though Pidge had a feeling that Sendak was a volunteer, unlike Shiro.

"But, apparently, that's not what this lab initially specialized in." Hunk explained. "It was originally laser gun and ion cannon prototypes. It's not what currently powers the drones' guns from the looks of it, because this stuff is basically too expensive for the drones to have to keep reloading. But apparently they switched when Haggar told them to make utilizing this new quintessence top priority. Remember that first Robeast on Arus? This is what powered his weapon, one of the first made with this stuff, actually. I'm guessing they tested them in the Arena, which makes sense why Shiro was a candidate for the arm as both replacement limb and weapon."

"Makes sense." Pidge said. They frowned. "But it also looks like Haggar was trying to see the compatibility between this new quintessence and living beings."

Hunk and Pidge both grimaced at this, realizing that Shiro—as a prisoner of the Galra Empire—was probably one of the first of her lab rats. Once Shiro survived, they could test it with other Galra, thus how Sendak acquired his arm filled with the same substance.

"So, what exactly is Haggar planning beyond new weapons?" Pidge said.

"Well, if quintessence is life force energy, and if they gather it by literally sucking the life out of things… Then technically that energy can be transferred." Hunk said. "Which could explain how seemingly immortal Zarkon and Haggar are."

"And maybe the first Blue Paladin." Pidge added. They frowned. "But if quintessence is already a bio-weapon, and this enhanced quintessence is an even stronger version of that, then using this quintessence on a Galra or other living being could turn them—maybe quite literally—into a living weapon."

"Like, potentially have the powers of Shiro's arm without the limb replacement?" Hunk said. Pidge shrugged.

"Maybe. But whatever Haggar's end-goal is, we may have just derailed it a bit. We've got all of the enhanced quintessence." Pidge said.

"So, what do we do with it?" Hunk asked.

"Let's ask Allura if we can keep a bit to play around with on the Castle, but we'll track down a star going supernova or a black-hole and dump the rest." Pidge suggested.

"I like that idea." Hunk said with a nod. "The Galra have the upper-hand on the weaponry around here. This can give us some time to beat them at their own game."

Pidge nodded, already having a few ideas. Then, they straightened and a cat-like grin spread across their face.

"Hey, Hunk…" They said, barely able to contain their excitement.

"Yeah?" Hunk said nervously, looking down at Pidge. That smile and tone of voice rarely led to good things.

"Do you wanna build a lightsaber?" Pidge asked in a sing-song voice.

Hunk's eyes widened as he grinned.

"Uh, only since I was five!" He exclaimed.

"Did I just hear 'build' and 'lightsaber' used in the same sentence?" Tali asked, coming up behind the two. "And does that mean what I think it means?"

"It means we're going to need Keith to give us fencing lessons!" Hunk said, excitedly punching the air.

Allura and Coran agreed to keeping some of the enhanced quintessence, though a bit reluctantly and on the condition that it was kept in a very secure area of the Castle, with a hastily added condition that it could only be worked with after having a full-night's worth of rest (Pidge thought that was a bit of a personal affront against them, but agreed to the terms).

Lance, however, had a better idea for disposing of the rest: blowing up the base.

"That way, the Galra can't send in more workers, they're done in drone production, and we could potentially play it off as an accident." Lance explained to Shiro over dinner.

Though it had annoyed Hunk that they were now back to green food goo for the meal, but agreed that it would be a bit lighter on Shiro's just-out-of-healing-pod stomach, and stayed on a spork well enough so that Shiro could feed himself with his left hand while his right was out of commission. Plus—as Lance pointed out—everyone eating it was a show of solidarity and emphasized how awesome of a team they were.

But none of the Paladins wanted to admit that they were actually starting to miss the stuff. Even if just a little bit.

"We should have a celebration movie night." Lance suggested as he helped grab up empty bowls and dirty sporks. "I mean, technically, we need to make up for the ones we didn't have and get caught up."

Everyone else readily agreed, but the other three Paladins had been watching and waiting for Shiro's response, having discussed this with Allura and Coran before Shiro's healing session was finished. They had figured that Shiro wasn't going to rest easily for a while after the day's events, and knew from previous experience that he would often relax more with everyone else close by.

But everyone was in the lounge not a half hour later, waiting for the movie to be picked.

"What should we watch?" Hunk asked as he helped Pidge set up the equipment.

"I set up a random-number generator and have all our movies listed with a number," Pidge said, laptop balanced on their knees. "Once we watch it, I'll remove it from the list and reset the parameters. That way, we don't end up picking the same movies over and over again."

"And keeps us from having to vote on a film or keep up with a turn-taking system." Allura said with a nod. "That should save us some time."

"Alright, so what's our first lucky number, Pidge?" Lani asked. Pidge grinned and punched the 'enter' button on the keyboard.

"Alright, and the lucky winner is…" Pidge said, cross-checking their spreadsheet. "Disney's Frozen!"

"Can we sing-along?" Lance asked excitedly. "Please tell me we can sing-along?"

"Why bother watching a Disney movie if you don't sing-along?" Tali said with a grin as Pidge started preparing the movie.

"Yeah, especially since someone got 'Do You Want to Build a Snowman?' stuck in my head earlier…" Hunk said, gently poking Pidge in the side of the head.

"Sorry not sorry." Pidge said with a grin.

"So, what exactly is this film about?" Coran asked.

"About the magic of love and why you shouldn't agree to marry men you just met." Keith said.

Lance gasped dramatically.

"Keith, you've seen Frozen!" He exclaimed.

"Believe it or not, I didn't exactly grow up under a rock in the middle of the desert." Keith huffed. Everyone looked at him and he rolled his eyes. "Okay, it may have been one of my foster sister's favorite movies. She watched it three times in one day on one particular occasion."

"Alright, let's get this movie night officially on!" Pidge said, pressing the play button.

All went well for the first ten minutes of the movie. 'Do You Want to Build a Snowman?' was sung-along to with various dramatics, although Allura demanded to know why all of these Disney movies seemed to want to kill the parents.

"Wait, hold on, pause it!" Shiro said suddenly as Anna danced along the palace halls, singing about owning eight-thousand salad plates. Pidge quickly did, but everyone looked at him confused as he stared at the screen, brow furrowed.

"That dress…" He said. "It looks familiar…"

"Well, she's a Disney princess." Lani said helpfully. "And it's one of her signature outfits. It's pretty much everywhere."

"No, it's different than that." Shiro said, leaning back into the couch, frowning. "I recognize her and the dress, but I'm not quite sure what else the dress is trying to get me to remember. It feels like something I shouldn't have forgotten."

Pidge suddenly went very still and very white as Tali started snickering.

"I think I know what it is!" She said. Her snickers became full laughs, and she was unable to continue.

However, across from her, Keith was starting to put two-and-two together, a grin spreading across his face to Pidge's horror.

"Full Disney princess regalia." He said in a breath, his face having an expression as if he had just been told that there was a new photo of the Loch Ness Monster, his eyes lit up.

"What?" Lance said, his brow arching as he looked at Keith, who was now starting to laugh too.

Pidge buried their face in their hands, the tips of their ears bright red.

"Oh, oh my gosh!" Tali said breathlessly, arms around her stomach. "Oh, this is just too perfect!"

"Someone mind explaining what the heck is going on?" Shinji demanded irritably.

"When Shiro and I…" Tali giggled. "When Shiro and I first met Pidge… They were… Oh my gosh, I can't believe you forgot that, Shiro!"

Shiro's eyes suddenly widened and he glanced between the princess on the screen and the mortified Pidge, who exclaimed,

"Oh, come on, I was eight and it was almost Halloween! It's not funny at all!"

"No, but it was cute as quiznak. Hang on, I've still got that saved on my phone…" Tali said, still giggling as she dug out her phone. She quickly scrolled through her photos, then turned the screen around to show everyone.

"Awwww!" Lance, Hunk, Lani and Allura exclaimed.

Pidge groaned.

Keith laughed harder.

Shiro, Matt and Tali—all twelve years old at the time—were all in the photo, along with Pidge—then aged eight, and wearing a replica costume of Anna's coronation dress.

"Pidge, you're so adorable!" Hunk said. "You look just like Princess Anna, too!"

"It was the first time Matt brought Tali and I to the Holts for the weekend." Shiro said, his expression a bit distant as the memory came back, smiling faintly. "Matt was barely in the door before he got barreled into by this small, green and glitter projectile."

"Then they dragged us upstairs, where they had a tea party prepared. It was so adorable and they were so proud of themselves." Tali added, still grinning.

"You prepared Shiro, Tali and Matt a tea-party!" Allura exclaimed with a delighted squeal. "That is so cute! And why cannot I convince you to do those with me more often?"

"I was eight!" Pidge exclaimed loudly. "And when you're eight and your mom tells you that you better get your room clean because your brother's bringing friends home for a weekend away from space school, you apparently decide to make your room even fancier and be the best princess hostess ever, okay!"

"Shiro, this is both the weirdest and cutest thing that has brought back your memories thus far." Lance said, face split with a huge grin.

"I can't help that." Shiro pointed out.

"Apparently not." Shinji said, his voice having just the slightest bit of ice to it. "Are we actually going to finish this movie or not?"

They did, though Pidge ended up spending most of that time watching Shiro and Shinji. The latter had been more sullen and distant than usual that evening. Or, more accurately, had been keeping a distance from his brother, frequently eyeing the stump of Shiro's right arm, though it was covered by his shirt sleeve and carefully tied in a knot so the extra fabric didn't get in his way. Pidge could understand his reaction to some extent; this was the first time he was seeing Shiro without the prosthetic, and didn't know exactly how to act around him.

As for Shiro, he slowly seemed to relax a bit more, and towards the end of the film it looked like it was hard for him to keep reopening his eyes every time he blinked.

Pidge smiled softly as the credits began to roll, and Lance insisted everyone stay for the after-credits scene.

They had a feeling Shiro was going to sleep well that night, and they were glad for it.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One:

Pidge paused in reaching for a tool at hearing the sound of tapping at their door. They unfolded their legs, stood up, then carefully navigated the junk piles to their bedroom door.

Pidge blinked in surprise to see Shiro standing there, looking just as tired as he did when they left him after the movie. They had figured he had gone to his room and to sleep already.

"I figured you'd still be up." He said simply.

"Usually." Pidge admitted. They stepped aside. "Wanna come in?"

Shiro did so and Pidge encouraged him to sit on the bed while they resumed their seat in their desk chair.

"Can it be fixed?" Shiro asked Pidge, looking at what lay on the desk behind them. Pidge glanced behind at the Galra arm and nodded.

"Yeah," Pidge said. "It'll take a day or two, though. Sorry about that."

"Not your fault." Shiro said with a shrug.

Pidge studied him for a moment, once again seeing Shiro struggle to keep his eyes open.

"Are you feeling alright?" They asked.

"Bit off balance, but no pain." Shiro said.

"That's good, but you look exhausted. Like you could pass out here and now. Why aren't you in your bed, asleep?" Pidge asked.

Shiro hesitated, the fingers of his left hand playing aimlessly with the edge of Pidge's blanket.

"I'm not that tired." He insisted.

Pidge stood up and crossed over to sit on the bed beside him.

"You came in here because you knew I'd still be awake." Pidge said. "Everyone else has gone to sleep already. Is something bugging you? Wanna talk?"

"I think I was just a bit lonely." Shiro admitted. "I knew you'd be awake and working on something, and I hoped you wouldn't mind me hanging around."

"I don't." Pidge said. "But, seriously, Shiro. You need sleep. Like, really bad. I'm actually surprised you didn't fall asleep during the movie."

"I almost did." Shiro said. "But, as soon as I got back to my room and into my bed… I couldn't sleep at all. I was still incredibly tired. I just couldn't fall asleep. So I stopped trying and came to find you."

"Because I'm the night-owl around here." Pidge said with a nod. "Or, night-pigeon, if you ask Lance."

"That, and… I remembered something you said, before we went back to Earth." Shiro said.

"What did I say?" Pidge asked, confused and struggling to remember.

"You said I had two options: either find a way to sleep on my own, or be at the bottom of a cuddle pile every night." Shiro said, smiling faintly. "And, I realized something. Why I have trouble sleeping." His mouth twisted in a grimace. "Well, maybe remember is a better way of putting it."

"Remember?" Pidge repeated in a soft whisper, brow furrowing, suddenly worried. Shiro nodded, then said,

"It's not necessarily bad. Or, all bad. It's just… Before Kerberos, I could count on one hand the times I slept in a room by myself. When I was born, my parents were renting this small apartment in the city. It was one bedroom, so their room was also my nursery. We moved to a two-bedroom apartment shortly after Shinji was born, and we shared that room. When we moved to America, we shared a room. When I went to the Garrison, Matt was my roommate. Even going to Kerberos, our bunks were all close together.

"After… After the Galra captured us, we were thrown into a cell with other prisoners. After I started fighting in the arena though… I never really knew where I would end up after a fight. If I was back in a crowded cell, I usually could sleep. Not for long, and it was never really good sleep, but it was sleep. People were either too scared of me or respected me too much to come too close, but there was some sort of safety there as well, if that makes any sense. But if I was in a cell alone… I couldn't sleep. I was on high-alert constantly. I don't remember exactly why, and I don't think I want to."

"Oh, Shiro…" Pidge said, wrapping their arms around him, hugging him tight. "I'm so sorry. Did it… Did it all comeback at once? Like a flashback?"

"No. It was coming back a little at a time. I realized that I actually slept through the night on Earth, and at first I thought it was because for the time we were safe and I didn't have to worry about Zarkon attacking and that sort of thing. But I also realized that every night, I had slept in a hotel room with my parents and siblings. It wasn't exactly a big cuddle pile…"

"But you weren't alone." Pidge said with a nod. "Well, now that we know what the problem is, and what fixes the problem, we can find a long-term solution."

"Such as?" Shiro asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I dunno. Sleep-overs, I guess."

"Pidge, it's not really fair to ask everyone to have a sleep-over every night because I can't sleep."

"Oh, come on, it'd be fun. We could do make-overs and have pillow fights." Pidge said with a teasing smile before becoming serious again. "But it doesn't have to be all of us, either. One of us could just go into your room with you or something. I'm sure there's cots or sleeping bags around the Castle somewhere…"

Shiro was quiet, and for a moment Pidge wasn't sure if he fell asleep, so they carefully tilted their head up to look at him to check. He was still hanging on to wakefulness, if barely.

"I can't." Shiro said. "I can't do that."

"Why?" Pidge asked. Shiro stayed quiet, but opened his mouth once to answer before closing his mouth again. Pidge started to fill in the blanks out loud: "Is it because you're the team leader? You don't want to ask for help? Don't want to feel like you're burdening the team or a liability?"

"I don't know why I came in here." Shiro said, starting to get up. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you all this. It's my problem, not yours, not the team's."

Pidge grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the bed.

"It may be your problem, but that doesn't mean you have to deal with on your own." Pidge said. "We're your team. We deal with everything together."

"It's just, I guess I'm a bit embarrassed by this, that's all." Shiro said, not looking at Pidge, but not making another move to get up. "The big, fearless leader Black Paladin can't sleep at night. I'm afraid of all the monsters under my bed, like some little kid. I can't… I don't want to be seen like that. Don't want to admit that I'm… I'm bringing down the team with all of my issues."

Pidge reached up and gently rubbed his shoulder.

"Shiro, don't be embarrassed, about this or anything else. I'm not a psychologist or therapist, but you definitely have PTSD. I did a project on it for psych class once, and trouble sleeping is one of the symptoms. In space, you don't have the traditional resources readily available to treat it, so finding alternative ones is very important, but you don't need to be looking for those alone. And, all things considered, you're doing pretty well. No one sees any of these things—the PTSD, the memory problems, the insomnia, the flashbacks, all that and more—as a burden, nor does anyone see you as weaker because you need help sometimes. But, just because you're team leader and Black Paladin, that doesn't mean you're supposed to be invulnerable and invincible all the time. That's not fair to you, or the team. You don't bring down the team. If nothing else, you make it stronger. You do so much for all of us every day. You help us with all of our own problems and get us to work together, to bond together. Let us return the favor every now and again, okay? And remember how I told you my Dad always said that his crew was like family? That's our team. We're family. Family means helping each other through their problems, no matter how big or small. That is how teams work. That's how family works. That's how people who—"

Pidge cut themself off with wide-eyes, quickly diverting their gaze to their lap, trying hard not to blush.

 _That's how people who love each other work._

"That's how people who suddenly have a bond with giant robot space lions work." Pidge finished quickly. "I mean, I guess. That's seems to be what happens. We don't really have many other examples, we're only the second generation of Paladins, but—"

"Pidge?" Shiro whispered.

"Y-Yeah?" Pidge said, daring to look up. Shiro gave them a small smile.

"Thanks." Shiro said.

Pidge smiled and gave him a quick hug.

"No problem." They said. They released him again and said, "What do you say? Just for tonight? We'll try the whole sleep-over thing and see if it works. Got to test this hypothesis."

"I would say no, but I don't think I'll be able to get back to my room without passing out." Shiro said with a nod. Still, he started to shift off the bed again. "Though I may have to, unless you have any extra pillows or blankets?"

"Wait, why?" Pidge asked.

"So I can sleep on the floor?"

"Why are you going to sleep on the floor?"

"Because I'm not taking your bed from you?"

"Shiro, neither of us are sleeping on the floor."

"Well, we both can't sleep on the bed."

"Why not?" Pidge demanded.

"B-Because?" Shiro said, blushing some.

"I don't mind." Pidge said with a shrug. "We've slept in close quarters before. Aforementioned cuddle piles."

"That is very different." Shiro insisted.

"Is it because I'm a girl, and if anyone sees you leaving my room tomorrow morning, eyebrows are going to get raised?" Pidge asked bluntly.

"Well, not exactly, but close. I just figured you didn't exactly want someone else sleeping in your bed with you."

"Because it's not proper for a man and a designated-female-at-birth person to lay in the same bed together, unwed and alone?" Pidge asked teasingly, now grinning as Shiro's face kept turning red. Shiro struggled for words and Pidge laughed once before saying, "Okay, look. You and I both know nothing is going to happen except actual sleep. Whatever we tell people in the morning, they'll believe, because it's us."

 _And because everyone knows I have absolutely no shot with him./em_ Pidge thought to themselves. _emExcept Keith, but Keith also swears he once saw Owlman near the dumpsters of the McDonald's he used to work at, even though Owlman lives in England, not the American Southwest. Plus that McDonald's has always been a bit shady. So, Keith shouldn't count._

Shiro was still hesitant, so Pidge sighed.

"Just lay down, Takashi, and go to sleep already." They said. "Everything's going to be fine."

"I'd say you twisted my arm into it, but considering you actually have my arm on your desk..." Shiro said, glancing over at said arm. Pidge laughed and got off the bed to turn off the lights and put their glasses in a safe spot. When they got back to the bed, Shiro was laying down, holding back the blankets with his left hand for them. They gladly climbed in. Pidge didn't mean to, but immediately snuggled in against Shiro, who wrapped his arm around them.

"You're so warm…" Pidge said. "I usually sleep with, like, three blankets, but I don't think I'll need them tonight."

"Glad to be…" Shiro started to say, but cut himself off with a yawn, then tried again. "Glad to be of service. Good night, Katie."

"'Night, Takashi." Pidge mumbled, eyes sliding shut.

Both slept very soundly after that.

"Up! Get up!"

Lance groaned and reluctantly lifted his head to look at Allura through sleepy, half-lidded eyes.

"'Llura?" He mumbled. "Good mornin' to you, too, Princess."

"Whuzgonnaon?" Keith mumbled from where his face was pressed into Lance's back.

"Get up, now! Both of you!" Allura said, tapping her bare foot, looking both very regal and intimidating in just her nightgown and robe.

"Why?" Lance groaned, gently moving Keith's arms around him as he pushed himself to a seated position. "What's wrong? Why aren't the alarms blaring?"

"Something wrong with the Castle?" Keith asked as he crawled past Lance to grab his shirt at the end of the bed, a bit more awake now.

"No. Coran came to wake me up a few minutes ago, and we have a problem. I need all hands on deck to solve it." Allura said. She took a deep breath, and said, "Shiro's missing."

"What?" Lance and Keith said, both instantly wide awake and scrambling.

"What happened?" Keith asked, quickly tugging his shirt on.

"As I said, Coran came to wake me up; he was going to check on Shiro, but his room is empty!" Allura said.

"Think he's still in the Castle?" Lance asked.

"Possibly." Allura said. "We just need help searching. Coran went to wake Hunk, and then go make sure none of our prisoners somehow escaped without our knowing. Keith, join Hunk and Coran, they should be waiting at the end of the hall for you. Lance, I want you to check the training areas."

"On it, Princess!" Lance said with a salute before tugging his sneakers on as Allura breezed out of the room.

"There goes all hope that Shiro got a full-night's sleep for once." Keith said with a frown as he grabbed his knife and bayard off of Lance's desk.

They got into the hall to see that Lani, Tali and Shinji had also been awoken to join in the search.

"Pidge?" Keith asked, noting the lack of the Green Paladin.

"Stars only knows where Pidge is, where they fell asleep." Allura said with a sigh. "To save time, I sent the mice to find Pidge and lead them to me. Alright, Coran, Hunk and Keith, go check the cyropods. Lance, I want you to check the training decks. Lani, the kitchen and dining hall. Tali, I want you to—"

However, Allura cut herself off in the middle of giving out directions to see one of the mice tugging on the hem of her nightgown, then brought its hands up around its eyes, cupping them to look like glasses.

"You found Pidge?" Allura asked, looking down at the little blue mouse, scooping down to pick it up on her hand. The mouse chittered. "Oh, they're in their bed."

"Pidge can actually get to their bed?" Hunk said with mock-surprise.

"Pidge knows where their bed is?" Lance said with even greater mock-surprise.

The mouse in Allura's hand quickly reached up and mused the fur on the top of its head, fluffing it so that it resembled a very familiar hairstyle, then started moving as if fighting something, primarily using its right arm.

"And… You found Shiro, too?" Allura said, shoulders sagging in relief.

"Where is he, then?" Shinji asked with a frown.

The little blue mouse indicated to Allura to put them down, and the little mouse scurried down the hall, being closely followed.

To everyone's confusion, the mouse stopped in front of Pidge's door, which was suddenly opened from the inside by the other three mice, looking very proud of themselves as they pointed inside the room while also indicating to be quiet.

They all peered in to see Pidge and Shiro, curled up together in the bed, both thankfully still sound asleep.

"Oh. Em. Gee." Lance whispered with a grin. "Hang on, I'm getting my phone, I need a picture of this…"

"You will do no such thing." Allura whispered back, scolding, grabbing Lance's collar before he could get away. She gestured to the mice to leave the room, then closed the door.

"Come on, Allura. It's rare enough to catch either of them asleep, let alone together and looking so cute!" Lance insisted.

"Well, that mystery is solved." Tali said.

"My apologies for waking everyone up for a wild yorksnall chase." Coran said.

"Don't apologize," Hunk said, waving his hand. "None of us would have suspected that this is where Shiro would end up when he disappeared in the middle of the night. Besides, Lance is right about one thing: it's rare enough to see Pidge or Shiro sleeping, let alone them sleeping side-by-side."

"Uh, Keith?" Lani said, brow furrowing. "Are you okay?"

"I'm great, why?" Keith asked, a huge smirk on his face.

"Because you're looking like you're the cat who got the canary." Lance said.

"Nope," Keith said, shaking his head, quickly realizing that he maybe shouldn't spill any details about his wingman-ing endeavors yet. He'd wait until he heard from Pidge and-slash-or Shiro about what happened the previous evening before then. "Not a cat, and no canaries were harmed. Well, I'm up now, so I'm going to hit the training deck, see you at breakfast!"

"Does he know something we don't?" Shinji asked as Keith left.

"Never quite sure." Coran said.

Shinji glanced over his shoulder at Pidge's door and scowled before heading back to his door.

He was both looking forward to and dreading hearing what Takashi and Pidge had to say.


	22. Chapter 22

**So, Season 2 reminded me of a truth I already knew when I started writing this story: that I really don't like writing for "incomplete" series (Star Wars being apparently the only exception; well, I say that but then last year we got a new Harry Potter book and a movie so…) and knew I was going to have a couple of banging-my-head-against-the-wall moments once season 2 was released.**

 **That being said… I'm largely going to continue this story based off of pre-Season 2 headcanons/this particular fanfic-canon. So this is going to be an Alternate Season 2, as you can see in the tags on AO3, and thus spoiler free for the Real-Deal Season 2 (which is fantastically amazingly awesome, by the way). This probably won't get finished by the time Season 3 airs (if my guess-timation of Netflix Original Season Airings is correct) due to the fact that I'll spend most of May and June focusing on writing my Senior thesis in order to get my Bachelors' degree in August.**

 **So, thanks everyone for still reading this story and I know for sure I'm not going to be able to top the show, but I hope you like what I've got anyways!**

Chapter Twenty-Two:

Shinji slipped out of the dining room as quickly as he could, storming down the hall.

He got his explanation, and he didn't like it.

He retreated to the library, which he was starting to consider to be his sanctuary from all things crazy. After all, if it was in books, he could just pretend it was all pretend. That these alien worlds didn't exist, evil emperors existed only to be beaten by the good guys, and magic flying lions were exactly where they belonged: books.

"I see you're particularly eager to get in some food for the brain this morning."

Shinji jumped and dropped a book on his foot as he turned to see Coran standing at the end of a row.

"Did you follow me here?" Shinji asked, frowning as he bent down to pick up the book.

"Well, I figured it shouldn't be just Pidge who goes after you when leave a room without a word and decidedly more irritated than usual." Coran said. "This is roughly your fifth time in less than two weeks by my count. Twice in one morning, on top of that. And, besides that, it is Pidge you are angry with this time, am I correct?"

"I'm always angry with Pidge." Shinji said with a frown, starting to read the spines again to pull more books. "Nothing new."

"This morning in particular." Coran said. "If you are still upset about Shiro's incident yesterday, then—"

"Stop calling him that." Shinji growled as he snatched a book off the shelf with a little more force than necessary. "Shiro, Shiro, Shiro. That's not his name! His name is Takashi! Why can't anyone on this ship call him by his actual name?"

"We call him Shiro because that is how he introduced himself to the Princess and myself, and evidentially how he was known on Earth." Coran said, voice calm and collected in the face of Shinji's anger. "It is his choice to let us call him by that name. But I see now that I was mistaken. It is not Pidge whom you are angered with right now. It is Shi—Takashi."

Shinji's shoulders slumped as he paused in reaching for another book, shifting the ones he already had in his arms.

"Frustrated." Shinji corrected. "I'm not mad at Takashi. I'm frustrated with him."

"Because he got hurt?" Coran enquired, taking some of the books from Shinji.

"What, of course that's not the reason! That's stupid!"

"Then what is the reason?"

Shinji let out a small bitter laugh as he turned to walk down the aisle of books, heading for his favorite table.

"Maybe because all it took was looking at a dumb Disney princess to remember a very specific event that happened years ago whereas he looked me straight in the eye and had absolutely no clue who I was. Or maybe it's because as soon as we got him back he was heading back to space—which has happened twice now. Or, I don't know, maybe it's because when he realized he couldn't sleep last night or any other night previously and he wanted company, he went to Pidge instead of me!"

In a final emotional outburst, Shinji slammed the books on the table.

"That's not fair, you know." Coran said as he set the books down on the tabletop and put a hand on Shinji's shoulder. "Takashi cannot control what he remembers and when, nor what triggers the memories coming back. This is one of the rare, lucky times where he remembers something good, not anything traumatic. With your second complaint, my understanding is that it was a sort of accident the first time and a really hard decision to make the second time.

"As for that third thing, well, Pidge is known for staying up late into the night cycles. But I also know that Takashi wouldn't have gone to Pidge if he thought they were asleep. No, he would have continued to suffer in stoic silence and perhaps never admitted he had a problem, let alone ask for help. But now let me ask you something: why should Takashi have gone to you?"

"Why should he have—Because I'm his brother!" Shinji snapped, annoyed, eyes burning as he glared up at Coran.

"Yes, but does Takashi know he can come to you?" Coran asked patiently.

Shinji opened his mouth to reply, hesitated, then said,

"I'm his family. That's what family's for."

"Yes, and he knows that. But the problem is he doesn't know he can go to you." Coran pointed out. "And the reason is not his amnesia. The reason is you."

"What does that mean?" Shinji asked, brow furrowing.

"What I mean is, one of the very first things you did upon seeing Takashi again was to push him away. You have done so again and again in various little gestures since." Coran said. "Your reunion… It didn't quite meet your expectations, now did it?"

"He's like a stranger now." Shinji said, looking off to the side, swallowing. "I've spent my whole life following in his footsteps, wanting to be just like Takashi. Doing everything he did. I thought I knew him so well. And then I lost him. And when he finally got back, he didn't even know who I was. And I realized I didn't know who he was. He's not… He's not the same anymore. So I got him back, but it's only bits and pieces of him. Literally. He doesn't have an arm anymore! My whole life, I always knew what we could talk about, what we could do together. Now… Now he's a whole other person. And I don't know if I necessarily like this person. They took my brother Takashi and what we got back was Shiro, Black Paladin of Voltron. And I just want Takashi—the real Takashi—back."

Coran was quiet, then he came and put his hand on Shinji's shoulder.

"As I told you yesterday, I never knew Takashi as you did. When he was younger, before Kerberos and the Galra, before the scars and arm." Coran said. "But I know Shiro now. He is kind and protective of the ones he cares for. He regrets that he can't remember who he was before, and all of the people he knew before. He detests that arm, the scars, his hair… They're all reminders of what he can't remember, both the good and the bad. He can never go back to being the person he was, have the relationships he once did. But he can move forward. You can move forward. You are going to need to rebuild and redefine the relationship you desire with your brother, Shinji. I can tell you this much, he loves you very much, and it hurts him that there is now distance between you. I can promise you, he wants to be your brother again just as much as you do."

Coran clapped Shinji's shoulder, then said,

"Right, now, take a book—one, now, mind you, and only one—and scurry off. I am officially banning you from the library for the day. First step to minimizing the distance between you and Takashi is decreasing the physical distance. He'll be in the lounge with the others; morning off from training so that Pidge and Hunk can repair that arm."

Shinji nodded and snatched up a book. He turned to leave, then hesitated, turning back to Coran.

"Um…" Shinji said. "Thanks."

Coran nodded and made a shooing gesture, and Shinji left the library.

Coran relaxed his shoulders as he watched Shinji leave.

Most of the time, humans seemed very complicated.

But it was times like these where Coran marveled at how similar humans and Alteans really were.

And, not for the first time, wondered if that was why the Blue Lion chose to make Earth her home for ten thousand years.

"Keith, cover your ears." Lance instructed from where he stood behind the couch in the lounge. Keith looked up from the tablet Lani was showing him, arching an eyebrow.

"What? Why?" Keith said, but moving his hands to his ears anyway.

"So I can do this." Lance said, then he laced his fingers together and cracked his knuckles.

"Dude, that's so bad for your fingers, you know." Hunk said from where he sat at the low table across from Pidge, searching through a tool kit.

"Whatever." Lance said. "Ready, Shiro?"

"Yes." Shiro answered, eyes closing as Lance gently put his hands on Shiro's shoulders.

"Man, Shiro, your knots have knots. We totally need to do this more often." Lance said as he gently kneaded the muscles.

"No, seriously, Lance, you're going to get arthritis if you keep cracking your knuckles." Tali said, glancing back and forth between the displayed pictures Pidge and Hunk had up on Pidge's tablet and the mess of wires and metal in front of her, the casing on Shiro's arm taken off for the repairs.

"Actually, there's been studies and there's no correlation between knuckle cracking and arthritis." Pidge said, the tip of their tongue sticking out as they tried to arrange the wires perfectly.

"Thank you, Pidge." Lance said with an appreciative nod.

"Providing accurate facts is just one of many parts of my job description." Pidge said.

"Remind me to have you on my team for Trivia night." Shiro said.

"How are your videos coming along, Lani?" Allura asked as she came in and put three water pouches on the table in front of the two engineers and Pidge. Hunk quickly stuck a straw in one, then put it close to Pidge's mouth, Pidge sipping through the straw as they continued to work.

"Well, I've got three out of the five introductory 'Meet the Lions and their Paladins' videos edited and ready to go. Keith and I are working on his now." Lani said with a huge smile. "And the inbox is absolutely flooded with questions for a Q and A session. Actually, there's enough for quite a few Q and A sessions."

"Individually or for the whole group?" Hunk asked.

"Both," Lani responded. She laughed some and said, "Here's a good one: space alcohol. Do you guys adhere to the legal drinking ages back on Earth, don't drink at all, or does it vary from planet to planet?"

"Oh, yeah, it definitely differs." Lance said with a huge grin.

"We've had a couple of times we didn't even realize that it was alcoholic beverages." Shiro explained. "Since we're technically on duty, we try to avoid the alcohol unless it's ceremonial or we need to accept one to not seem rude."

"Plus, sometimes it just tastes nasty." Keith said, making a face. "Avoid the nunvill, by the way."

"Unless you want to use it as a hair tonic, in which case, go ahead." Lance said. "That's really the only good thing you can get out of it."

"It's an acquired taste." Allura said as she took a seat on the couch next to Keith. She smiled playfully. "Not that you would know about that, Lance."

"Hey, watch it Princess, or you won't get a turn." Lance said, smirking back at her, pausing briefly in massaging Shiro's shoulders to hop onto the couch beside him, gently taking what remained of Shiro's right arm into his hands. "Shiro, tell her how good this feels and let her know exactly what she'll be missing."

"Lance, I don't think I'll ever have enough words to describe this. Allura, I cannot tell you how much you'll regret it if you miss this." Shiro said, starting to relax even more as Lance continued his ministrations.

Allura chuckled.

"Alright, I concede. My apologies, Lance." She said.

"Apology accepted." Lance said with a smug expression.

"I think our worst experiences with space booze is when we found out the hard way that one planet's non-alcoholic beverages are hard booze to humans." Hunk said.

"Oh, that was a nightmare." Allura said with a sigh. "But also incredibly amusing."

"Lance got so drunk he spent half an hour flirting with a potted plant." Pidge said. "And then started to make out with the plant until Coran dragged him back to the Castle."

"Yeah, well, at least I didn't cry about how fluffy and soft the Prime Minister's ears were." Lance retorted, sticking out his tongue as if to say 'so there'.

"Though, I think the best time we had a misunderstanding about alcohol was the stuff from that one planet with the troll like people." Pidge continued, ignoring Lance. "And that's mostly because of the very unconventional way Lance and Hunk got them to ally with us."

"What happened?" Tali asked.

"Well, see, at the beginning of the banquet, we were all given these huge glass tankards, you know, like the ones they serve beer in back home? But like, twice that size." Hunk said, holding his hands apart for emphasis. "What we didn't know was that tankard was supposed to last us the whole party. Lance took one sip and got really excited, because the stuff tasted exactly like orange soda."

"So the tankards that were supposed to last three hours were empty in less than ten minutes." Allura said. "Bearing in mind, at the time, none of us were aware that it was alcohol, not even Coran and I."

"So we got some pretty horrified looks when we asked for refills." Lance said with a grin. "Apparently, these people were lightweights."

"Then Lance somehow managed to convince Hunk to do a soda-chugging contest with him." Pidge said. "Three times."

"Why three times?" Shinji asked from the corner of the couch he had wedged himself into with a book, though his eyes weren't really on the pages in front of him, rather looking over to where Pidge and Hunk were at work.

"Because the first time it was too close to call it, and so we needed to do a best two out of three." Lance said.

"Yeah, so by the time we got our fourth refill, Lance is almost bouncing off the walls from all the sugar, but we're both really coherent and upright and all that good stuff." Hunk explained. "And their leader basically came up to Allura all serious-like—"

"And he announced that he was ready to sign the treaty, because he and his people were both awed and horrified by the obvious strength the Paladins had to be able to drink so much without dying of alcohol poisoning." Allura said, shaking her head. "Easiest negotiations ever."

"This sort of thing is actually kind of frequent." Shiro said. "I think my favorite was that time we were given this warmed up wine but it tasted more like tea, just sweeter and fruity."

"Sounds kind of like hot sake." Shinji commented.

"Yeah," Shiro said with a nod. "It was even served in similar flasks and cups. I kept looking around to see if they were going to bring out chopsticks."

However, before anyone got a chance to say anything else, alarms started blaring.

"What's going on?" Lani asked over the sirens.

"Are we being attacked?" Tali asked.

"No, that's a new distress signal, one nearby." Allura said, already heading for the door, everyone following behind.

They got to the bridge at the same time as Coran—at least, they were all pretty sure it was Coran under all the weird not-leather-but-space-leather coverings and a welding helmet and goggles, which he flipped up to reveal his mustachioed face.

Allura's fingers were instantly on the controls, and she bit her lower lip some.

"Anunnaki." She said after a moment.

"Anunnaki?" Keith and Pidge repeated, the former with gleaming eyes and a huge grin and the latter a bit confused.

"Oh, you've heard of this planet and people?" Coran asked, taking off his welding gloves.

"They built the pyramids!" Keith exclaimed.

"No, Keith, they didn't." Shiro said. "Aliens didn't build the pyramids. Humans did."

"Yeah, but is anyone else starting to wonder if Blue being on Earth had impacts we weren't even aware of before now?" Hunk said.

"Such as?" Shinji asked.

"Magical girl anime transformation sequences." Hunk said with a nod, folding his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, can't argue there." Lance said with a nod. "So, anyways, what's wrong with the Anuwaki."

"Anunnaki!" Keith corrected.

"Well, it appears that despite their close proximity to the Galra Empire and this particular base, the Anunnaki have managed to avoid the Galra seizing their planet and enslaving their people." Allura explained. "Until now."

"But that's good, isn't it?" Lani asked. "Because Voltron can come in and take down the Galra before they enslave the people?"

"No one is going to enslave the Anunnaki." Keith said patiently. "They're too smart to get enslaved by the Galra! If nothing else, they will enslave the Galra!"

"Keith, just… for one moment pretend all your conspiracy theories don't exist." Shiro said. "Pretend the government hasn't lied to you and isn't been keeping a secret vampire spy organization or whatever. Please?"

"But that's boring." Keith said, pouting some.

"To answer your question, Lani, in theory, yes, this is good and we can do exactly that." Allura said with a smile. "But we'll have get there soon. Which means we need to leave in a few maxiticks. Pidge, Hunk, what is the status of Shiro's arm?"

"I think we can get it so that Shiro can pilot, but it'll take a little longer and a little more work to get it to light up again." Pidge said.

"So, functional enough to do the important 'Form Voltron!' stuff." Hunk said.

"We'll have to make do." Shiro said with a nod. "Keith, Lance, go get ready to destroy this base so we can leave A-Sap."

"Got it!" Lance said, he and Keith rushing to their respective hanger entryways to get into their armor.

"Coran, please go with them to make sure they don't blow themselves up in the process." Allura said.

"Right ho, Princess!" Coran said, snapping down his welding mask before heading out.

"Tali, did Pidge and I give you enough info so that I can help Keith and Lance and you can help Pidge?" Hunk asked.

"Yeah, I think I can handle it." Tali said with a nod, a small smile on her face.

"Thanks!" Hunk said, already running to his own entryway. "Hopefully this won't take too long!"

With that, everyone began to fully divide and conquer their own tasks.

A few hours later, Pidge and Tali had just finished their repairs when they were called to the main deck for lift-off. Before they left the atmosphere, however, they lingered a few ticks to make sure that the domino effect that Keith, Lance and Hunk had set up actually worked, all three looking rather pleased with themselves as the base exploded from the bottom, sending large chunks of stone flying through the air. More importantly, they stuck around just long enough to make sure they didn't accidentally start a forest fire.

"Entering coordinates." Allura said once given the all clear.

"Shiro, are you ready?" Pidge asked hesitantly. They watched as Shiro's mouth twitched briefly into a grimace before saying with a lot more gusto than is normal for him,

"As I'll ever be."

"Lounge?" Pidge asked, which got a reluctant nod.

For the first time, Pidge felt a little bit of guilt for removing Shiro's arm the day before. Getting it back on was a literal pain, as the connectors in the arm became joined to the nerve endings in Shiro's arm.

The first time they did a reconnection, the sudden pain had startled Shiro so bad that he accidentally swung out with his arm and hit Hunk in the stomach, sending him to the floor. Several apologies and making sure no ribs were broken later, Hunk had remarked,

"Well, I guess that's one way to know we got it right. But, uh, can we find a better way to do that next time?"

Lance suddenly dashed out of the deck, calling over his shoulder that he'd meet them in the lounge. He showed up just moments after the others did into the lounge, grinning and holding up what looked to be a small toy cow.

"What the heck is that?" Pidge asked, arching an eyebrow.

"It's a cow, Pidge." Lance said as he hopped over the couch onto the lowered area.

"I got that part." Pidge said. "But why did you bring it for this?"

Lance's grin grew and he squeezed the toy in his fist.

A low "Mooooo" came from the toy.

"I found it on Earth," Lance said. "It's a stress toy."

"And it moos." Shiro said as Lance put the toy into his hand.

"Who can be stressed when cute farm animals serenade you?" Lance said.

"A person with zoophobia." Shinji pointed out.

"Point taken…" Lance said. "Anyways, just squeeze the cow, okay, Shiro? It's better than you nearly busting the veins in your hand like last time."

Shiro obligingly squeezed the cow, which mooed.

"What exactly is a cow?" Allura asked conversationally as Pidge and Hunk began to align the Galra arm into place. "Is it a type of dog? You said that there were a lot of different types of dogs."

"Uh, no. A cow is not a dog, but both are mammals so I guess they're kind of similar." Hunk said. "To some extent."

"In the same way a bear and a bunny are." Tali said.

"Do you keep cows as animal companions?" Coran asked.

"Well, they're kind of working animals." Lance explained. "See, on Earth, farmers keep them and we use their milk to make stuff like cheese and yogurt, or we'll just drink the milk."

"Their… Milk?" Allura repeated, brows furrowing and head tilted.

"Yeah, the farmers milk the cows." Lani said with a nod.

"Let's… Make sure we're not having another one of those cultural miscommunications…" Coran said. "Milk is a fluid produced by a female, primarily to feed her infant young?"

"Yes, that's exactly it!" Lance said with a grin. "Nice to know we've got—"

"Why do humans drink that from animals?" Allura asked, she and Coran looking a bit disgusted. "And… Why exactly did a human try to discover if this milk wasn't poisonous to humans?"

"Uh, you know, when she puts it that way…" Hunk said, looking up. "Like, who exactly was the guy who decided to reach under a cow and drink the liquid that came out of the udder? Did he lose a bet or something? I don't know…"

"For that matter, how did the first hug go?" Lance said. "Someone just threw their arms around another person and neither of them knew why or what was going on… It was probably really creepy. Creepier than the Voldemort-Draco hug from the last Harry Potter movie."

"The first kiss must have also been pretty awkward." Lani said. "Maybe that's why first kisses are always awkward."

There was another low "moooo" coming from Shiro's left hand as Pidge and Hunk finished getting the right arm aligned, the latter putting a large hand on Shiro's shoulder to keep him steady.

"Ready, Shiro?" Pidge asked, already knowing that the answer wouldn't be exactly truthful, but it was what they and Hunk were going to have to go on.

Shiro didn't look at either of them, but stared straight ahead.

"Yeah." He said.

"Alright," Pidge said, bringing up the programming. "Three… two… one."

As soon as they said 'one', Shiro jolted with the pain, but didn't swing out with either of his arms, though there was another long, drawn out "mooooooooo".

"You good, buddy?" Hunk asked calmly. "Deep breaths, remember?"

"Yeah, good." Shiro got out. "Pain's already mostly gone."

"Was it better or worse or about the same this time?" Pidge asked as they started packing up tools.

"A bit better." Shiro admitted, clenching and flexing the metal fingers and arm, making little whirring noises. He then used both hands to push himself up off the couch. "Alright, let's get suited up and in our Lions."

"Race you to the hangers!" Lance said.

"Oh, you're on!" Hunk said.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Keith yelled as Pidge shoved him back onto the couch before taking off after Hunk and Lance.

"Oh, that's cute, they each think they're going to win." Shiro said, running after them.

"Defenders of the Universe, everyone." Shinji grumbled as he got up.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three:

Less than ten minutes later, Pidge made sure that their teammates could see their triumphant smirk as they got into their Lion's cockpits.

"You cheated!" Lance said, almost whining. "Shiro, tell them that they didn't win because they cheated!"

"Just because I took a short cut through the vents doesn't mean I cheated." Pidge said smugly.

"Technically speaking, it's a tactical advantage so it's allowed." Shiro said, looking just as displeased as the other three Paladins.

"That's still not fair!" Lance said.

"Paladins, it looks like we've got a small problem." Coran said over the comms. "There's an upper atmosphere storm is a-brewing over Anunnaki. Looks like we can get the Lions through the eye of the storm, but the Castle may be too large to fit. So we can't provide air support just yet."

"And communications may be down." Allura added.

"Since I'm currently weaponless, I'll cover air support." Shiro said. "Paladins, ready for launch?"

"Ready!" Pidge said.

"Yes sir!" Hunk said, saluting Shiro over the video link.

"Born ready." Keith said, though no one was quite sure if he meant for the upcoming battle or for meeting the Anunnaki.

"Let's go kick some Galra butt!" Lance said, grinning.

Within minutes, they had navigated the eye of the storm and were flying over the planet's surface.

"My scanners aren't detecting any Galra ships," Pidge said, frowning.

"Mine aren't either." Lance said. "Lots of life forms, though, primarily gathered in a few locations."

"You think maybe the Galra sent their ships back to get reinforcements or something?" Hunk asked.

"That doesn't sound like a Galra tactic." Shiro said. "If nothing else, that's a good way to get slaughtered in an uprising."

"Maybe there was already an uprising and the Anunnaki already beat the Galra invaders?" Keith suggested.

"Then why is the distress signal still going strong? Pidge, can you trace the source of the distress signal?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah, it's coming from that large pyramid." Pidge said. "Sending coordinates."

"Alright, let's split up." Shiro said. "Pidge, Keith, Lance, you three sneak into that pyramid and see if you can find whoever sent that distress signal to get some more information. Hunk and I will continue to scan the planet for Galra."

"Roger that." Keith said.

"Alright, Keith, let's go meet some Anunnaki and ask them a couple questions about where they got their architecture degrees." Pidge said as they landed the Lions in the forest.

The three managed to get near and into the pyramid in record time.

"Huh. No sentry drones or security droids." Pidge observed as they scanned for droids.

"I guess the Galra don't know the Anunnaki are here? Maybe they fled when they saw the Galra approach or something?" Lance suggested as he carefully peeked around the hallway.

"Or this is just one group that fled." Keith added. "Which way now, Pidge?"

Pidge pointed down a corridor.

"Anyone else feeling really creeped out about this?" Lance asked in a low voice as they continued down the halls. "It's like a scene from a bad horror movie…"

"It is weird we haven't seen anyone or anything." Keith said. "Or heard anything either."

"The signal's coming from that room." Pidge said, gesturing to the two large wooden doors ahead. "I scan lifeforms, but no droids."

"Could be Galra in there." Lance said grimly. "Bayards ready?"

Keith and Pidge nodded, and all three activated their bayards.

They burst open the door to see tall, green-skinned aliens wearing clothes patterned with triangles huddled in the room, eyes wide and murmuring began.

But no sign of any Galra.

"It's okay," Pidge said, offering a smile to what appeared to be a father shielding his wife and children. "We're Paladins of Voltron. We're here to help you."

"Voltron?" Whispered one alien in a female voice, approaching hesitantly, visibly shaking.

"Yep, just like the legends." Lance said, having gone through this many times.

"We got your distress signal." Keith added.

The female closed her eyes and ducked her head.

"I am so sorry…" She said, voice cracking. "I am so sorry… We had no choice… My husband, our leader… They took him. They said they would give him back after they… After they lured Voltron here."

Pidge, Lance and Keith all froze, looking at each other with wide eyes.

"Where are the Galra?" Lance asked. "We'll rescue your husband and—"

"It is not the Galra, Paladin." The female said, lifting her head so that they could see her sad eyes.

"Wait, the Galra aren't here?" Keith asked, brow furrowing. "Then who is trying to take our Lions?"

"It is not the Lions they seek." Said a young male, coming up to put his hand on the female's arm.

He looked equally pained as he said,

"They claimed that they were after something different. Something even rarer than Voltron."

"Who are 'they' and what are they after?" Pidge asked, already preparing to run out the door.

The male looked at them and said,

"They are pirates. And they want the last Princess of Altea."

"How the quiznak did this happen?" Hunk asked as the five Lions flew back towards the Castle. As they did so, they saw an unfamiliar ship attached to the airlock.

"We couldn't have known," Shiro said with a grimace as they flew into the hangers. "Come on, we have to move fast."

The five Paladins met in the large room that connected the hangers, then quickly divided up again to search the Castle, telling each other their destinations in passing.

"Bridge." Shiro said.

"Airlock." Keith said.

"Training deck." Lance said.

"Central energy chamber." Pidge said.

"Pod bay." Hunk said.

"Still no contact from Coran or Allura or anyone." Pidge said over their helmet as they ran down a corridor.

"I'm at the bridge." Shiro said. "I see signs of—Coran!"

"Coran?" The other four Paladins echoed in concern.

"Is he okay?" Lance asked.

"He's out cold." Shiro reported after a moment. "Looks like he got a blow to the head… There's some blood, but his breathing's good… I'm going to try to wake him, and if that doesn't work in sixty ticks I'll bring him to the Black Lion."

"I'm at the airlock, don't see anyone yet…" Keith said. "Ship hasn't left. I'm going to get on board and look around."

"All the pods are accounted for." Hunk reported.

"Central energy chamber is good. No one's tried to hijack the ship." Pidge said. "Lance, how's it going on your end?"

"Just getting to the training deck." Lance said. "So far, noth—OW! WHAT THE QUIZNAK?"

"Lance!" Pidge called out, already doing a one-eighty and running towards the training deck.

"I'm okay!" Lance quickly said. "I'm okay! Got a couple of years scared off my life and maybe a bruise, but I'm okay! But, uh, I found everyone."

"Everyone?" Hunk repeated, breath hitched a bit, telling Pidge that he was also running towards Lance's location.

"Well, everyone except Coran, who's with Shiro," Lance said. He suddenly laughed. "You guys have got to see this…"

Pidge, Hunk and Keith all slid to a stop in front of the training deck entrance.

Allura, Lani and Tali all stood near the entryway with Lance, all watching as five very confused and irritated space pirates sat very still in the center of the room, two training drones standing guard. One was bleeding heavily from the face. Another one laid passed out on his stomach in front of them.

In Lani's hand was the cast-iron skillet that they had brought from Earth. Tali held a toolbox in one hand and a wrench in the other, while Allura held a staff similar to that of the training drones—her preferred weapon of choice. All three looked a little dusty with some scratches, but otherwise okay.

"What happened?" Hunk asked. "And where's Shinji?"

"Who do you think got this invisible maze up and running?" Shinji's voice echoed through the room from where he sat in the control booth. He gave a lazy, two-fingered salute from behind the glass.

"You said Shiro found Coran?" Allura asked Lance, looking concerned. "Is he alright?"

"Never been better, Princess."

Allura turned with a small gasp to see Shiro and Coran enter the room, Coran leaning on Shiro slightly. Allura dropped her staff and flung her arms around Coran, sending the older Altean tottering slightly before returning her embrace.

Allura suddenly released Coran, her eyes narrowed but watery.

"Don't ever do that again." She said.

Coran smiled and gently patted her shoulder.

"I won't make promises I can't keep, Princess." He retorted. He looked past her briefly. "Now what have we here?"

"Our intruders." Tali supplied. "So, it looks like you guys kicked Galra butt in record time."

"Aw, did you guys form Voltron and I missed it?" Lani asked, shoulders slumping some.

"No, the Galra were never here." Shiro answered, studying the small group of pirates, who were watching the Castle Crew nervously.

"As soon as the Lions made it through the eye of the storm, we were attacked by these ruffians." Allura said. "They locked onto the airlock before we even knew they were there. It appears Pidge isn't the only one tinkering with vessel shielding capabilities." Allura pointed at a tall alien, who was missing an eye and had scales that were different colors in some places and shaped like scars. "That one stormed the bridge and tried to attack me, and Coran shoved me into the entrance to the Black Lion's hanger."

"About that time, Tali, Lani and I heard the alarms and figured out what was going on once they started searching the Castle for the Princess." Shinji said from the control booth. "We didn't think we'd be able to get to the armory in time, or figure out how to use what's there, so we made due."

The pirate with blood down his face pointed at Lani and said,

"That little miztar hit me!"

"I don't know what a miztar is, and I'm guessing it's not anything nice, but yes I did hit him and it was awesome." Lani said, gesturing to the frying pan in her hand. She grinned. " 'Frying pans. Who knew, right?' "

"When Allura and I ran into each other trying to evade the rest, we decided to lure them here to the invisible maze." Tali finished.

"Where is the Annunaki leader? And I hope for your sake he is unharmed." Keith called across the room to the pirates.

"He's on our ship, locked in an escape pod." The leader responded. "We were gonna send him back down to the planet after we got the Altean princess."

"Shinji, lower the maze and put the drones into stand-by mode." Shiro said. There was a whir as the maze went down, but the pirates didn't move as the training drones' weapons activated. Within moments, they were surrounded by five angry Paladins and a pissed off Princess.

"Now, we're going to ask some questions, and you're going to answer, and answer honestly." Shiro said.

"And why should we?" Asked one of the pirates gruffly.

"Because we might just spare your lives and let you go." Pidge said. "The Galra won't be that considerate."

"So, who do you want to bet hired them?" Lance asked, bayard activating and he shifted it into his hand, ready to shoot if needed, making a show of looking down the sights at the leader.

"Commander of this region?" Keith suggested, circling the group, letting the edge of his sword scrape the ground. "Has happened before."

"Mmm, true. But to give up actually conquering a planet, just to capture Voltron and get more glory from Zarkon? Nope." Hunk said, arms folded over his chest, scowling down at the pirates. "Probably the Witch."

"My money is on Zarkon himself." Shiro said. "He knows we'll do just about anything to rescue Allura, and we almost lost Voltron the last time."

The head pirate looked wary.

"It wadin't the Galra that 'ired us." He said. "Definitely not Zarkon. Weren't necessarily 'ired either."

"What do you mean?" Allura asked, tapping her staff against the floor lightly.

"Open bounty, but not one on order of Emperor Zarkon." The pirate explained. "Empire puts out an official seal on bounties on order of Zarkon and his cronies. Not this one. Dunno who put out the bounty. Said they knew the rumors surrounden' the princess, 'bout Voltron, but didn' want nothing to do with the Lions or Paladins. Just the Altean princess."

The Paladins exchanged glances, before looking towards Allura for their next move.

But she looked just as lost as they did.

Hunk frowned from where he sat in front of Coran, studying the older Altean.

"This would be easier if I knew what the symptoms of a concussion in an Altean are…" He admitted as he finished putting a bandage over the wound Coran had on his forehead.

"According to this old Altean First Aid for the Home and Family manual that I found," Shinji said, gesturing to the huge book that laid on the table in front of him. "The symptoms are: small pupils, headache, and…" Shinji's brow furrowed. "Huh, maybe this translation isn't right. It says something about green spots on the tongue?"

"I'm afraid you have to be a bit more specific regarding the exact shade of green." Allura said as she, Shiro, Lance and Keith entered the lounge. "Light green is concussion. Dark green is Shadawamopels disease while if it has more of a bluish-tinge it's definitely Masatonam."

"How the heck does spots on the tongue—no matter what color they are—equal a concussion?" Tali asked, her nose wrinkling.

"Aliens." Lance answered, plopping down on the couch and starting to take off pieces of his armor.

"Well, good news is, no concussion." Hunk said after a moment. "How do you feel Coran?"

"Energized from that little cat-nap." Coran responded, preparing to stand up, but Allura put her hand on his shoulder.

"Being knocked unconscious is not a cat nap." She said. "You need to rest."

"Can someone please explain to me why is there an fifteen-step treatment for a papercut?" Shinji asked as he flipped through the book. "Alteans have magic healing pods, but no band-aids? This is seriously ridiculous…"

"Princess, someone is after you. I cannot and will not rest until we are absolutely certain that you are safe." Coran said, reaching up to put his hand on hers.

Allura sighed softly, but gave Coran a small smile. She knew the unspoken words.

Coran wasn't going to run any risk of possibly losing Allura.

Just as she wasn't going to risk losing him.

"Just please rest for a little while. For my sake, then." She said. Coran contemplated the request, then nodded.

"Any luck, Pidge?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah, I found the dark internet of space." Pidge said from where they sat with their legs crossed, computer in their lap, still dressed in their armor like the other Paladins. "And the open bounty. He was right, this guy wants nothing to do with Voltron. Just Allura."

"It could still be Zarkon or Galra." Keith said from where he leaned against the wall. "Trying to lure us to him by capturing Allura."

"But if it's not the Galra and if they don't really want Voltron, then who would want to capture Allura?" Lani asked.

"I can't think of anyone." Allura said with a sigh. "None of our allies, I am sure."

"It doesn't matter who it is," Shiro said. "We're going to have to be on our guard even more now. We got lucky this time, and everything turned out okay. But we might not be that lucky next time."

"So…" Lani said, running a finger over the rim of her frying pan. "Uh, you know… that technically means we need more people trained in combat. Obviously Allura and Coran are, and Shinji's got some awesome moves, but we got outnumbered this time."

"And what she's trying to get around to saying is, can you teach us to fight and use Altean weapons so that this doesn't happen again?" Tali asked.

"More importantly, that we don't have to resort to household objects to fight off space pirates with laser guns." Shinji added.

"Technically speaking, they're castle-hold objects." Lani said. "Or is that spaceship-hold objects?"

"The point is, it's looking like there'll be times the Castle's not safe, and we can't stay in the Castle all the time." Shinji pointed out.

"If we're going to be out here, if there's any way we're going to be at all truly useful, then we're going to have to know how to defend ourselves and each other." Tali added.

"They make a good point." Hunk said.

"Agreed." Shiro said with a nod. "We'll start your training tomorrow morning."


	24. Chapter 24

**Happy Valentines Day!**

Chapter Twenty-Four:

"So. Ever dealt with weapons before?" Lance asked as the five Paladins, two Alteans and three trainees entered the armory.

"No." Tali said.

"Nope." Lani said.

"Yes." Shinji said, examining a huge sword that could probably only be wielded by someone three times Shinji's size.

"Then the first step is determining your fighting style." Shiro said. "Shinji, I'm assuming yours is close-combat?"

Shinji nodded.

"Swords and martial arts." He said.

"I honestly don't know what mine is." Tali said as she walked along rows of weapons. "I still like the idea of those lightsabers… I used to kick my cousins' butts every Christmas with the toy ones back home."

"I can teach you how to use a sword," Keith offered. "Then you can decide if that's what you want."

"Sounds good to me." Tali said.

"Lani? What about you?" Allura asked.

"Uh, I don't think I'd be good at close range…" Lani said, biting her lip. Then her eyes widened as she saw something. "How about long-range?"

"Ah, I see what you have set your 'sights' on." Coran said, smirking a bit at the pun. He went over and examined the small laser gun Lani was looking at. "It'd be a good fit for you. Small and easy to hide. This particular model was favored by Altean diplomats."

"I thought Alteans believed in peace first." Keith said, looking over his shoulder.

"We do, but our diplomats carried weapons just in case. Plus, in many cultures a weapon is considered part of a formal wear ensemble." Allura said. She stepped over and put a hand on Lani's shoulder, giving her a smile. "Coran is right, this is a perfect weapon for you, Lani."

"Shinji?" Shiro asked.

"Still undecided." Shinji admitted, frowning some as he couldn't find anything that really called out to him.

Pidge suddenly had an idea. An idea that was either potentially dangerous or a stroke of genius. Or both.

"Shinji." They said. "Give me a week or so, and practice hand-to-hand sparring with me during that time."

Shinji looked at them and arched an eyebrow.

"I feel like I should I ask why before agreeing." Shinji said.

"With Pidge, and with that look they have on their face, it's always a good idea to ask why." Lance said.

"It's because I want you to teach me how to spar left-handed." Pidge said.

Shinji frowned.

"Left-handed?" He repeated.

"Yeah," Pidge said with a nod. "You're left-handed, aren't you?"

"I am." Shinji said. "But, really, that doesn't make much of a difference. Karate uses both hands equally."

"Right, but it makes a difference to you." Pidge said. "That day when you sparred with Shiro? You used your left side more than your right. Shiro, who has right-hand dominance, had to adjust and that was a bit of a challenge at first because he kept expecting strikes from the right, not the left."

"Lance told me to avoid the metal arm. The metal arm is on the right." Shinji said with a shrug. "Why exactly do you want to learn to spar this way?"

"Because I use my bayard in my right hand." Pidge said. "It's a close range weapon. Incredibly close range. What I want to know is a better way to hit someone or something with my left hand."

Hunk looked across the room at Pidge with eyes full of both concern and suspicion.

"Aw, Pidge," He said. "Please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."

"I am thinking a lot of things right now, Hunk." Pidge said.

"Yeah, and one of those things you're thinking about is punching stuff made out of Galra steel." Hunk said. "This is why we have Lance and Keith, you know. They do crazy, stupid stuff so the rest of us don't have to in order to know why it doesn't work."

"Hey!" Lance and Keith said together.

"Oh, there's a story there, I can feel it." Tali said.

"Yes, the grand epic tale of why-we-don't-punch-things-made-of-Galra-steel," Hunk said. "One day after training, Lance got a little too excited and playfully punched Shiro's arm a little harder than intended. And he realized that was not a good idea a little too late."

"It hurt!" Lance said with a bit of a whine.

"And whose fault was that?" Pidge asked teasingly.

"Anyway, then Keith laughed at Lance for jumping around in pain, and because Lance is Lance, he challenged Keith to punch Shiro's arm and see if it hurt to hit Galra steel." Hunk said. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Long story short, Keith spent the rest of the afternoon in the healing pod having his broken fingers mended."

"All the while, Shiro—who really had no part in this whatsoever except to serve as an incredibly unaffected punching bag—is apologizing to the both of them. Still not sure for what, considering he was the victim." Pidge said. They shook their head. "But that's not going to stop me, Hunk. I've got an idea. It'll be awesome, you'll see."

With that, they ran out of the armory.

"Inquisitive and daring." Allura said, shaking her head.

"Perhaps a little more so than their predecessor…" Coran said musingly.

"Should we be concerned?" Shinji asked.

"Probably the safest bet." Lance said with a shrug.

Over all, the next week-and-a-half of training went fairly well. Lani and Lance spent hours shooting at targets, and Lance had talked Lani into running a very simple drill with him against training drones, predominately as a way to teach her how to shoot and defend herself with the built-in shield that came in the suits of Altean armor that Allura frequently donned.

Tali divided her time evenly between Keith and Hunk; learning how to handle a sword from the former, and building lightsabers with Hunk in the workroom. The blades using the enhanced quintessence turned out wonderfully, and Tali was very proud of her new weapon. Hunk had even designed some smaller prototypes of the blade that worked like daggers, and then made more of those types for every member of the Castle to have.

Shiro, Allura and Coran also designed and ran a few new drills to incorporate Shinji, Tali and Lani into the already established team dynamic.

Shinji spent some time with Pidge every day, sparring as one of Pidge's droids recorded the spar, then Pidge would dash off. No one was quite entirely sure what they were doing, just knew that it involved the enhanced quintessence and a lot of caffeine consumption.

"Hey, Shinji." Pidge said at random one morning as they took a water break.

"Yeah?" Shinji asked, poking a straw into water pouch.

"What kind of cake do you like?" Pidge asked. Shinji arched a brow at her.

"Random question." He commented.

"Not really," Pidge said. "Your birthday's in a couple of days, so I thought I'd ask so that Hunk could make a cake. May fifth, right?"

Shinji frowned.

"That's right," He admitted. "But don't bother. I don't want to celebrate."

"Why not?" Pidge asked, brow furrowing. Shinji sighed and mopped his brow with the hem of his t-shirt.

"Look… My birthday was kind of hard to celebrate last year. I'd rather just ignore it this year." He said.

Pidge looked confused, then their shoulders relaxed with realization.

"The mission to Kerberos launched May the sixth." They whispered. Shinji nodded. "Shinji, I'm so sorry."

Shinji shrugged.

"You're not the one who picked the launch day." He said. "I mean, I don't really care. I just… I don't want to really think about… well, I don't want to think about _it_."

Shinji saw that Pidge quickly understood what 'it' was. That the last time Shinji's entire family had been together and happy before the Kerberos incident was May 5th of two years previously.

They were both quiet for a moment, then Pidge said,

"My parents' wedding anniversary… It's in September."

"Okay?" Shinji said, brow furrowing, not understanding why they were bringing that up.

"And, on the way to Kerberos, Matt and I worked together to get a video chat up and running for my parents, so they could see each other and talk on their anniversary." Pidge continued. "It was the last time my Mom and I talked to Dad and Matt before the Galra captured them. So, it was really hard, to decide to become Pidge and infiltrate the Garrison. Because that meant leaving Mom on her anniversary, and then later anniversary of the day they announced the Kerberos incident. Basically what I'm trying to say is, I get what you're going through. And I am sorry."

"Thanks." Shinji mumbled. Somehow, it did make him feel a bit better. He was quiet, then said, "Was it rough? Going to the Garrison? Since you only went to visit Matt and your Dad from time to time?"

"Oh, yeah, it was, a bit." Pidge admitted, sitting down on the edge of that mats, Shinji joining them. "I avoided this one particular table in the cafeteria, because it was always the table Matt sat at with Shiro and Tali. I went with Dad to work a couple of times when there were teacher work days at my school, so I'd go eat lunch with them. And being in the communications department was especially hard, knowing Matt spent so much time there. And, oh man, I got so pissed because I needed to meet with an instructor for a mandatory feedback session and they were new and got Dad's office and I hated how he decorated it and I just sat there the entire time trying hard not to show how angry I was." They gave a frustrated sigh. "What about you? Is that why you switched to communications? Didn't want to be around the simulators because Shiro spent so much time there when he was at the Garrison?"

"That's one of the reasons." Shinji said, closing his eyes.

He remembered the disappointment in his advisor's eyes as he turned in the transfer papers. How his advisor had begged him to reconsider, to stay in the piloting program.

Shinji knew what his advisor and the Garrison really wanted. They wanted him to be some sort of showpiece, just as they had done with Takashi. They wanted him to represent the spirit of the Kerberos mission, to encourage other pilots to go beyond the limits, just as Takashi had.

But the words "pilot error" were still too fresh, were ringing in his ears.

"I considered leaving the Garrison altogether." Shinji said. "But I didn't want to go home. Didn't want to transfer in to the local high school, didn't want to go back to living in a room shared by two but only one occupant, didn't want to get up every morning and walk past my brother's shrine just to get breakfast... I thought about going to live with my grandparents in Japan, but there were too many memories there… I didn't want to transfer to a new school, where everyone was going to easily figure out that the new kid had the same family name as the Kerberos pilot… Staying at the Garrison, the one place I didn't know Takashi even though pretty much everyone there did know him, seemed like the best decision."

To his surprise, Pidge suddenly let out a sound that was half scoff, half laugh.

"Quite the frustrating emotional roller coaster we've been on the last year and a half, huh?" They said, grinning humorlessly. "Who do you want to punch more for it, the top brass of the Garrison or Zarkon?"

"Do I have to pick just one? Because I'd very much like to punch them all." Shinji said with a small smile. "Speaking of punching, are you going to fill me in on exactly what you have planned with all this we've been doing?"

Pidge frowned.

"I'd like to, but honestly I'm a little stuck right now. I'm worried that it's not going to come out the way I hoped."

"That's not exactly answering the question." Shinji pointed out. "What are you—?"

Just then, the intercom crackled to life above their heads.

"'Ello!" Coran's voice said. "If you'd all be so kind as to come on up to the bridge, the Princess and I have some news about a recent development and new destination to share."

Pidge and Shinji exchanged a glance, then hurried towards the bridge.

The pair arrived with Lance and Lani following in right after.

"What's up?" Lance asked, bayard still in hand.

"We have discovered that a planet that was an ally of Altea all those years ago, and they're still free of Galra control." Coran explained, gesturing to Allura, who stood off to the side a bit with her arms folded over her chest. Coran reached out and pressed a button, bringing up a hologram of a planet. "This is Illeva. They wish to ally with us and happen to have some information that may be beneficial for us."

"Coran, is this really a good idea?" Shiro asked, frowning. "We just found out that someone's put a price on Allura's head. We've been spending the last week and a half wormholing from one side of the galaxy to the other. How do we know that this isn't a trap?"

"Exactly what I said." Allura said.

"Well, if they've been out of Galra control for ten thousand years, that must mean they're really great warriors, right? So good that not even Zarkon will cross them." Hunk said.

"Actually, the Illevians are actually very peaceful." Coran said.

"Sorry, Coran, I'm with Shiro, that's pretty suspicious." Keith said with a scowl. "If they've managed to avoid Galra control for so long, and with being an easy target, something's going on."

"Ah, but they haven't been a target because their planet is very unique. Unlike most planets, Illeva doesn't have a solar system or a star to orbit. See, the Ilevians make everything on their planet, including their planet!" Coran said, grinning.

"Wait, so what you're saying is that this planet is also a ship or something?" Tali said, eyes widening.

"That is precisely what I am saying." Coran said with a nod.

"That's really cool! A whole planet, run like a ship! The amount of craftsmanship that would have to go into that…" Tali said, a bit of a wistful look in her eye.

"So that's why they haven't been conquered? Because they keep moving around?" Lani asked.

"You've hit it spot on." Coran said.

"You said they make everything on their planet, but how does that work?" Shinji asked. "Don't they need raw materials like plants and metals and stuff?"

"Actually, Illeva is heavily reliant on plants. See, there are two types of Illevians." Coran said, holding up two fingers for emphasis. "There are Growers, and then there are Weavers. Growers are born with gifts to nurture plants despite the lack of traditional resources for growing plants. Weavers take the plants and turn it into anything and everything. You name it. Food, clothing, technology, furniture."

"Whoa." Hunk said. "That's pretty cool…"

"It's quite a thing to watch." Coran said.

"So, when do we meet them?" Pidge asked.

"Two diurnal cycles from now." Coran answered.

"I've still got a bad feeling about this." Shiro said.

"As much as I agree with you, Shiro, we need to ally with Illeva." Allura said with a frown. "Many of the Castle's parts are uniquely Altean, several of which have been getting harder and harder to repair over the last few months. The Illevians are the only ones in the entire universe that could possibly make replacement parts."

Allura unfolded her arms and said,

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to review the notes from the last time Altea allied with Illeva."

With that, she left the bridge.

"Wow, she really doesn't want to go to this place, huh?" Lance said in a low voice once Allura was gone.

"I'm afraid this trip, this particular planet and people, may be difficult for the Princess." Coran said, eyes still on where the doors had shut behind Allura.

"Are they difficult to negotiate with?" Lani asked.

"Stars, no. However, the last Altean who negotiated a treaty with the Illevians was Allura's mother. It was… It was also the last treaty she negotiated. The diplomatic visit to Illeva was the last Allura took with both her parents."

"And now she's returning without either of them." Keith said.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five:

Allura sat at the head of her bed, staring at the holopad in her lap and the image it displayed sadly. The hologrm tinted everything blue, from her mother's dark skin to her pale lavender hair and the pink markings beneath her purple-blue eyes. But the hologram did nothing to tamper with her mother's voice.

"Chief Inez and I have made much progress today." Queen Nova of Altea said, her voice as bright as her smile. "All of the trade leaders will be bringing in their specific requests in the morning. Officially, that is."

Allura paused the hologram again, just staring at her mother's face.

She had always known that she looked like her mother. Looking in the mirror was just one way that prevented Allura from forgetting her mother's face. But that was still very little to remember someone had died so long ago, when Allura was still so small.

The fat yellow mouse on her shoulder suddenly picked up his head and sniffed the air.

"What is wrong, little one?" Allura asked with a chuckle, reaching up to pet him on the head. "Did someone get a snack and you are hoping that they will share?"

But the other three mice also became a little more alert where they rested beside Allura.

There was a knock on the door, and a familiar voice calling, "Princess? May I enter?"

Allura reached over to her bedside table and activated the door, allowing Coran to enter.

"Is everything alright?" Allura asked, setting aside the holopad.

"I can't answer that without asking you the exact same question." Coran said, coming to stand at the foot of Allura's bed, arms folded behind his back.

Allura glanced beside her, where the holopad rested, still displaying her mother's face.

"I will be." She said. "I apologize for my behavior earlier. I was childish and churlish."

"You're worried. About this alliance with the Ilevians." Coran said.

"I am hoping that all will go well." Allura said. "The Illevians were always friendly to Altea, though I can only begin to wonder if that has been true for the past ten thousand years…"

"That's not what you're worried about." Coran stated. "You're worried that you won't do as good of a job as Queen Nova."

Allura said nothing, staring at her hands in her lap. To her surprise, Coran came around and sat beside her, gently wrapping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a gentle hug.

"You know, Princess," He said. "You're a fantastic leader, just like your father. He would be so proud of you, of everything you've done up until now. But you are also a lot like your mother, and _she_ would be proud of how well you negotiate and handle diplomacies."

"I barely remember her, Coran." Allura whispered, swallowing when she felt tears come to her eyes. "I learned so much at my father's side, but I wish I had the same chance to learn from her. To actually know her." Allura reached up and took off her circlet, one of the few pieces of Altean treasure left, which signified her position as heir to the throne, brushing her thumb over the stone in the center. "This is what I have of my father, what I have of his legacy. But I have nothing of mother's. I wish… It is silly, but I wish I had something of hers to take with me to meet with the Illevians."

Coran thought for a moment, then stood up, holding out his hand for Allura to take.

"Come with me, Princess. I am going to show you a part of the Castle that you haven't seen since you were very, very small." He said.

Allura frowned, but took Coran's hand, linking arms with him as he led her out of her chambers and down the halls.

Allura had been down these halls before, yes, many times. But she had no idea of what lay behind the door Coran took her to.

Coran keyed in a passcode, letting the door slide open. Coran indicated for Allura to step inside the dark room. Hesitantly, she did so.

As soon as she stepped inside, light flooded the room and Allura paused, eyes widening.

No… It was impossible…

But then she took a deep breath, inhaling the beautiful scent.

Juniberry flowers. Her mother's favorite flower. This room smelled of the Juniberry perfume she always wore, the scent warm and familiar as it washed over her.

Allura looked around at the room, a massive bedchamber with a small set of couches and chairs off to the side. An entire case against a wall full of books and knick-knacks, treasures from her parents' adventures both before and after their marriage.

A dressing table, long strands of lavender hair in the bristles of the brush. A strand of Oxenbree crystals hanging out of the jewelry box. A half-empty bottle of Juniberry perfume sat in front of the mirror.

"Coran… What is this?" Allura asked, looking around in awe.

"Your parents' bedchamber." Coran answered.

"No, that can't be." Allura said, shaking her head. "Father's chambers was just down the hall from mine…"

"After your mother died, your father moved back into the room that was his when he was the crown prince. He locked this chamber up and forbade entry to anyone." Coran explained. "Because this… This is the room your parents shared together. You were born in this very room, you know."

Coran smiled faintly at the memory, watching as Allura walked around the room, occasionally touching an item, leaving fingerprints in the dust.

"I remember that day so clearly. I had just arrived at the Castle, and was headed towards this room, when your father very well nearly ran me over, you in his arms. He was so excited, he couldn't wait to introduce you to the Yellow Lion. He was lucky your mother was too drugged up to really think anything of it at the time. She knew you were with Alfor and therefore safe, but, stars, did he pay for it later. Alfor got chewed out by both Nova and the midwife for whisking you away. And then when Ryla arrived, she was highly perturbed that you were born furless, and was so worried you'd freeze to death. It took half an spincle to convince her to hand you back to Nova, and really we only succeeded because you woke up from a nap hungry. In keeping you warm, Ryla succeeded. Fed, however, was another thing altogether."

Coran chuckled.

"I'm prattling," He said. "I brought you here because I think there is something of your mother's you should have."

"Really?" Allura asked, turning to her advisor, who nodded before heading over to the closet.

"And I believe the Illevians will most certainly appreciate this as well." He said as he opened the door.

"Allura, you look fantastic!" Lani gushed a few days later as Allura came to the bridge, dressed in a dark green dress that was embroidered with pink, blue and light green flowers and vines. In addition, Allura had added a pale pink cape and asked Lance to help her make a braided crown around her head.

Allura smiled.

"Thank you, Lani." She said.

"And here I thought I had seen every dress in your closet, and then you pull this one out of nowhere." Pidge said, grinning as they admired the dress.

"Not nowhere. Just… kept somewhere very safe." Allura said, her fingers reaching down to brush at the soft fabric.

From where she stood on the bridge, Allura watched as the planet of Illeva arrived, awaiting for the Castle to land.

Allura took a deep breath and straightened.

She was as prepared as she would ever be.

They landed the Castle, and were greeted by the current Chief and her entourage.

The Illevians were tall and incredibly slender with pale, silvery skin. Dark, slanted eyes brightened and shapeless lips formed a smile when the Chief saw Allura.

"Princess Allura." Chief Nitwiel said. "I understand that it has been many years since you were last on Illeva, so I greet you by saying 'welcome back'."

"Thank you, Chief Nitwiel." Allura said, giving the Chief a small bow. "I must confess that I was rather small the last time I visited. I am eager to see it with older eyes, and a taller point of view."

Chief Nitwiel stepped forward, a long, spindly hand reaching out, then paused and looked at Allura.

"May I?" She asked. Allura nodded. Chief Nitwiel then knelt to the ground and gently lifted the hem of Allura's skirt, inspecting it. "This is my great-grandmother's Weaving, without a doubt."

"Your great-grandmother gifted this dress to my mother, upon the completion and signing of the treaty that they worked together to create." Allura said.

Chief Nitwiel smiled.

"Then it is fate that has brought their daughters—and the daughters of their daughters' daughters—together." She said, standing up again. "I look forward to negotiating with you, Princess. But, first, allow me to escort you and the Paladins of Voltron on a tour of Illeva."

The Chief led the Castle Crew to the main square, which acted as a market, where Weavers and Growers were at work.

In one stall, a Grower tenderly stroked a pale pink plant that sat in his lap, while beside him a Weaver carefully turned the leaf of the plant into ultra-fine strips in the air before him with one hand, then weaving the strips into a bundle of fabric on his lap in the other hand. In another, a group of Weavers and Growers worked together to turn plant material into metal through what appeared to be a complicated process involving a boiling pot and constant, consistent movements. Meanwhile, another Weaver carefully but quickly made a small, square little treat on a stick, holding it out to a small girl.

"Wow…" Hunk said with admiration as he watched the process. "You can't even tell it's been woven, not like like what things we consider 'woven' on Earth are."

"Once the fibers stop moving, they meld into each other." The stall-owner explained, grinning as she offered her observers some of the treats. "Thus making the fibers unseen."

"Does that mean it can't be unraveled?" Lance asked, accepting one of the treats.

"It takes a very skilled Weaver to weave, and unweave." Chief Nitwiel explained. "Those with that ability are not only our most prized artisans, but they are also known as a special class of Repairers. They are the ones who can seamlessly mend a tear in fabric, fix a broken off piece, turn uneaten portions of food into something completely different."

"So, uh, does that mean pretty much everything you make is edible?" Shinji asked. "Even the metal?"

Chief Nitwiel chuckled.

"I do not recommend it, but, yes." She said. "Even the metal. We have no waste; everything can be reused. Or, indeed, eaten."

Chief Nitwiel concluded the tour, then led Allura back to the palace for negotiations while the rest of the crew explored the market on their own.

Pidge and Lance wandered over to where Growers and Weavers worked together to make different kinds of fabric and clothing.

"I would have thought you'd tag along with Lani and Hunk to go see what makes this planet move." Lance commented to Pidge while they watched as a Weaver turned a plant into a dark green fabric that was like silk.

"Actually, I'm hoping to find information to help me with a project." Pidge explained.

"Wait, is this project the whatever-you're-making-that-involves-enhanced-Quintessence?" Lance asked.

Pidge nodded.

"And I might need your help, Lance." They said.

"Pidge, I'm not being your test subject, not after the time where you turned my hair pink for a whole day."

"I don't need you as a test subject." Pidge said. "I need you to teach me how to sew."

Lance arched a brow, then nodded.

"Then let's find your fabric, first." He said.

"I am sad to say, Princess, that we have a problem, one that we were hopeful that you and the Paladins of Voltron could help us with." Chief Nitwiel explained as she sat with Allura, Coran and several Illevian officials at a long table. "In exchange, you have our loyalty and we will be at your beck and call for whatever physical resources you may need."

"Voltron exists to help the people of the universe," Allura said. "But even so, I would like to know a little more about what you need help with."

"Certainly," The Chief said with a nod. She took a deep breath and said, "As I understand it, your Castle operates on a Balmeran crystal. Likewise, our source for heat and energy—the one thing we cannot manufacture—is a similar crystal. Our whole planet is centered around this crystal. However, recently my Weavers in charge of operating the planet have discovered that it has cracked in several places. We are having power-outages frequently. We need a new crystal, desperately."

Allura smiled easily, relaxing.

"If that is all you require, you can consider it done. One of the first planets in the Voltron Alliance is a Balmera." She said. "Our Yellow Paladin, Hunk, is frequently in contact with a friend he made during that time. I'll ask him to immediately contact her to see about obtaining one. With luck, we can have one ready for you in less than seven diurnal cycles."

"I am afraid, your highness, that it is not that simple." One of Chief Nitwiel's advisors said, lacing his long fingers together in front of him. "We cannot use a crystal from just any Balmera. We may be able to manipulate our plants into metals, but everything is—at its very core—plant material. Natural. Therefore, we need a particular kind of Balmeran crystal that will interact with the plant material rather than just metal."

"Stars above," Coran said, stiffening slightly beside Allura. "You don't mean a crystal from the Queen Mother Balmera?"

"We do," Chief Nitwiel said. "We were fortunate, that we were able to obtain our current crystal before the Galra reign. But now they occupy the Queen Mother Balmera, and we have encountered many difficulties in getting down to obtain a crystal ourselves."

Allura glanced at Coran, who gave her a small encouraging nod before she turned back to Chief Nitwiel.

"Before we agree, we will need to conduct our own research regarding the situation on the Queen Mother Balmera," She said. "And confer with the Paladins."

"Of course." Chief Nitwiel said with a nod.

"Queen Mother Balmera?" Keith repeated, brow furrowed. "Is that like a bigger version of the one we've been to before?"

"What exactly is a Balmera?" Shinji asked.

"A Balmera is a living creature that takes on the shape of a planet." Hunk explained. "Crystals grow on its surface and inside the mines that are carved into it. There's this whole energy transfer ceremony involved, it's really cool."

"So, I'm guessing by the name, this Queen Mother Balmera is, well, the mother of all Balmeras?" Shiro asked.

"Correct, Number One." Coran said. "Now, based on where they decide to orbit in the universe, Balmeras have different surface environments. Most are rocky or icy, some more desert like. But the Queen Mother is the only Balmera to have plants growing on it."

"Have you ever visited the Queen Mother Balmera, Coran?" Lance asked.

"Once, a long time ago." Coran said with a small nod, looking a bit wistful. "It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Or, perhaps 'was' is a better term. I'm terrified to go and discover what the Galra have done to her."

"So, we just need to go in, kick Galra butt, get a crystal and bring it back to Illeva?" Lance said. "Seems pretty straightforward. All in a day's work for Team Voltron."

"It may not be so simple." Allura said. "Chief Nitwiel said that she has sent Illevians to the world before to obtain a crystal. The Balmerans on the Queen Mother apparently distrust other species, even when they are attempting to offer assistance, and are more strictly controlled by the Galra there. Furthermore, a native Balmeran will be needed to harvest a crystal." Allura reached up and gently touched one of her earrings. "If I were to try an energy transfer, I would be dead before we could get a crystal that is of the same size as this."

"Okay, so we need to free the Balmerans, but they probably won't necessarily like us, but we need them to like us to get the crystal." Pidge said, tapping a finger to their chin in thought.

"We may need a few more people for this assignment." Shiro said. "Now might be a good time to call in some reinforcements."

"You have reinforcements?" Tali asked.

"We have reinforcements?" Hunk asked, tilting his head.

Shiro nodded.

"If we can't get the Balmerans to trust us, we can at least try to get them to trust members of their own species. Let's call Shay and ask her to come with us."

"Who is Shay?" Shinji asked.

"Hunk's girlfriend." Lance answered breezily.

Lani's eyes widened some as Hunk's eyes narrowed at Lance.

"For the last time, Shay is not my girlfriend." Hunk said. "She is a rock who I admire very much."

"Yeah, sure, that's why you're always calling her to chat." Lance said teasingly.

"Lance, knock it off." Shiro said, a hint of warning in his voice. "Hunk, go back to the Castle and contact Shay now and see if she's up for the job and if not find someone who is."

Hunk nodded and left the room in the suite that the Illevians had provided for their stay, giving a final glare at Lance as he went.

"I will go inform Chief Nitwiel that we will are going to try to get the Illevians a crystal." Allura said, standing up to leave.

"I'm going back to the Castle, too." Lani said, jumping up from the couch suddenly. "Going to upload the footage I got from today."

With that, she dashed out of the room.

Shiro turned to Lance with a sharp look.

"What?" Lance said, trying to look innocent.

"You know what." Shiro said.

"Ooh, someone's in trouble…" Pidge said in a sing-song voice.

"Hunk's told you—told all of you, yes, Keith and Pidge, I'm bringing you into this—I don't know how many times…" Shiro started to say.

"Imma let you finish, Shiro," Lance said, holding up a hand, grinning. "But did you see Lani's face?"

"She looked surprised, and a little pissed." Tali commented. The corner of her mouth turned up. "I think I see the method to your madness, Lance."

"You're trying to force Hunk and Lani to actually talk about the quiznaking feelings they have for each other." Pidge said.

"I figured the potential competition could spark some sort of love confession." Lance said.

"Shay isn't competition, though." Keith said.

"Potential is the keyword, Keith." Lance said.

Shiro frowned.

"The intentions do not justify the actions, Lance." Shiro said. "You're going to need to apologize to Hunk."

"And I will." Lance said. "But with any luck, he'll be coming to me to thank me before then."

Hunk did not have any need to thank Lance, who apologized, mostly because he could feel Shiro's eyes on him and knew they wouldn't be off of him until he apologized.

They left Illeva, and were headed to Shay's Balmera the following morning.

"Uh, should we be concerned that we haven't seen Pidge since we left? They skipped lunch…" Lani said as Lance—in an effort to get back into Hunk's good graces—cleared the table of the dinner dishes.

"They're probably in the lab. I saved them a plate for when they are hungry." Hunk said, gesturing to a covered dish in front of the only empty chair.

Shiro stood up, picking up the covered dish.

"I'll take it to them," He said. "Because, hungry or not, Pidge won't leave the lab once they enter 'the zone'."

"You're a brave man for entering the lab when Pidge is in the zone." Lance said, shuddering slightly. "Coran, you better prep a healing pod for what's left of Shiro…"

"I'll start planning an extraction and rescue mission." Keith said, voice completely serious despite the small grin he had.

Shiro rolled his eyes and started out of the dining room.

However, he didn't get out of the doorway when he quickly had to lift up the dish so that the Pidge didn't crash into it. Instead, they stuck out their hands in order to brace for impact, palms hitting Shiro's chest. Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you wanted to look at it), Pidge had too much momentum and the rest of them crashed into Shiro's chest as well.

"Sorry!" Pidge said, hands moving slightly over Shiro's torso as they tried to get themself steady again.

"Are you okay?" Shiro asked, looking down at them. Pidge nodded, completely red.

"Yeah," They said. "I'm good…" Then the blush lessened on their face and their eyes brightened and they gently pushed away from Shiro (which was maybe unnecessary, but it gave them a chance to feel Shiro's pecs so…) and went over to the table. They reached into the pocket on their cargo pants and pulled out a bundle wrapped in a surprisingly clean rag and tied with a bit of string, depositing the bundle in front of Shinji.

"Open it!" Pidge encouraged. Shinji's brow furrowed, but he set down his spork and picked up the bundle. He gave the string a tug and the bundle opened, revealing a pair of black gloves wrapped inside.

"Okay…" He said, confusion in his voice as he picked up one of the gloves. "Uh, thanks?"

Pidge's grin grew and they reached into their other pocket, pulling out a singular, identical glove, slipping it onto their left hand.

"Watch." They said.

They took their gloved thumb and ran it along their other fingertips. There was a small clicking sound and suddenly the glove began to glow a pale purple.

"Whoa…" Hunk said, eyes wide as he came over to Pidge's side. They held out their arm for Hunk to take as he carefully lifted their hand close to his face to study the glove. "This is your big mysterious project, isn't it?"

"Pidge, is this powered by the enhanced quintessence?" Allura asked, also coming around to study the glove.

"Yes and yes." Pidge said proudly. "The fabric is Illevian. I found a Weaver who was willing to craft me special fabric that won't burn so the wearer doesn't get hurt."

Shinji slipped a glove onto his own left hand and activated it.

"This will definitely work…" He said, impressed as he moved his hand. "It turns off the same way it activates?"

Pidge nodded and Shinji did so.

"It sounds like so many civilizations contributed to this." Tali commented. "Illevian materials, Altean tools, human engineering…"

"And Galra tech inspiration." Shiro said. Pidge's smile waned a little as they nodded sheepishly, studying Shiro's reaction. He simply nodded and said, "It's definitely a lot less bulky. And TSA friendly." He turned to Shinji. "Want to test it out on the Gladiator?"

"Might as well," Shinji said, standing up.

As the brothers left the room, Allura said,

"Pidge, this is really quite remarkable. By any chance, would you be able to make me a pair?"

"I can," Pidge said. "But I'll need to get more fabric once we go back to Illeva."

"I thought you got enough material to make at least four gloves." Lance said. "So you could just make one?"

"Uh, no. That fabric is… Unavailable…" Pidge said.

"A test go wrong?" Hunk asked.

"Not exactly…" Pidge said. "Let's just say, it has something to do with an even bigger mystery project."

"Frankly, that terrifies me more than all the Robeasts Zarkon's sent after us." Lance said.

"Just trust me when I say it's going to be awesome." Pidge said, taking off the glove so that Hunk and Tali could get a better look at it deactivated.

However, there was a different, gloved hand that took the glove before Hunk and Tali. Coran held it up and studied it briefly for a moment before nodding and handing it to Hunk, who immediately took it over to the table to examine, everyone beginning to crowd for a better look.

"You did good work, Number Five." Coran said in a low voice, ruffling Pidge's hair gently. "Though I admit I am beginning to worry that Green is a little too daring for their own good."

With that, he left the room, Pidge watching him curiously.

Shinji was panting slightly but grinning as the Gladiator fell, turning to look at Takashi, who was grinning.

"That was really good. You've got a great weapon suited for your fighting style." Takashi said, coming over to put his hand on Shinji's shoulder.

"Won't lie, this turned out much better than I thought it would." Shinji said.

Takashi gently pat his shoulder.

"I'd offer for you to have a go against me, but we'll be here all night if we start now." He said.

"First thing in the morning, then?" Shinji asked.

"We'll need someone to get us to stop before we reach the Balmera, but sure." Takashi said. "For now, let's get to bed, it's getting late. Go get cleaned up and I'll take care of the Gladiator."

Shinji nodded and began to pull off the gloves.

"Alright." He said. "See you in the morning, then. Good night, Takashi."

"Good night, Shinji." Takashi said. There was a brief pause, in which Shinji headed towards the door, but he froze when he heard his brother speak again.

"And, Shinji? Happy birthday."

Shinji looked over his shoulder and smiled at his brother.

"Thanks, Takashi." He said.

It was the happiest he had felt since he started this mad space adventure.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six:

There was quite a crowd gathered when the Castle landed on the Balmera, and there was one young Balmeran who could barely wait for the ramp to be lowered, rushing forwards as soon as they saw the pale light coming from inside the ship.

"Hunk!" Shay exclaimed upon seeing the Yellow Paladin, who grinned at her, rushing up to meet her for a hug.

"It is good to see you again!" Shay said, releasing him. "The video links are just not the same."

"They never are," Hunk said in agreement. "Come on, I've got some new friends for you to meet!"

Shay's already bright and happy disposition got even brighter and happier when Hunk introduced her to Lani.

"It is an honor to meet you, Lani of Earth. Hunk has told me much about you!" Shay said.

"Oh, I'm sure half of it is exaggerated…" Lani said, turning red somewhat.

"Getting Shay to come with us is going to require every bit of the diplomatic skills that we have combined." Shiro observed in a low voice to Tali.

"You think she'll say no?" Tali asked, studying Shay, who was now hugging Pidge.

"No, getting Shay to say yes is the easy part." Shiro said. He nodded his head slightly to where Shay's family was now approaching, the elders of the family also approaching for embraces from the Paladins. "See the guy a little taller than Shay?"

"Uh huh."

"Big brother, name's Rax. Very protective. He's going to be the one to put up a fight."

Tali scoffed.

"You cut up fighter craft with that big fancy sword of Voltron like it's paper, but you're all scared of a girl's big brother." Tali said, amusement in her voice. She smirked then playfully nudged Shiro with her hip. "Maybe you should just view this as practice."

"Practice for what?" Shiro asked, brow furrowing.

Tali's smirk grew.

"You know what," She said. "Or, more accurately, you know who."

Shiro felt his cheeks heat some as Tali sauntered off.

It went better than expected.

Of course Shay said yes and of course Rax insisted that she shouldn't go.

However, Shay was rather pleased with the compromise her parents came up with.

Shay would go with the Paladins of Voltron…

And so would a very disgruntled Rax.

They left for the Queen Mother Balmera that night. Shortly after take-off, Pidge was walking to the lab when suddenly someone grabbed them by the back of their shirt.

However, said person quickly let go with a squeak when they had a very sharp, very zappy bayard aimed at their throat.

"Sorry! Bad idea!" Lani said, holding up her hands in surrender.

"Yeah, bad idea." Pidge agreed, lowering the bayard. "What's up?"

Lani bit her lower lip, then grabbed Pidge's hand and dragged them down the hall to Tali's room, the older girl sitting on her bed reading a manual of some sort.

"I need girl talk!" Lani declared as she shoved Pidge inside. "Well, girl and gender-fluid person talk."

"Frankly, Allura's better at that than I am." Pidge said, pushing back their glasses.

"Except she, Shiro and Keith are with Rax on the training deck and she said that 'as tempting as my offer is, she could not possibly accept at this given time'." Lani said, perfectly mimicking Allura's accent.

However, there was soon a knock at the door. Lani turned and opened and there stood Allura, still dressed in her flight-suit and covered in a bit of sweat.

"I gave into my temptations." Allura said simply as she crossed the room to sit at the foot of Tali's bed, letting her hair down from her bun. She frowned slightly. "But we are missing another designated-female-at-birth, female identifying person from our discussion."

Lani hesitated and began to pace in the small space.

"I wanted to hate her. I tried to hate her…" Lani said, shaking her head slightly. "But I can't! She's too nice!"

"Are you talking about Shay?" Tali asked, arching an eyebrow.

"She's a rock and she's nicer than most baby animals, nicer than any human could ever be!" Lani said, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"Yep, definitely Shay." Pidge said with a sigh, eyes going wide as all of a sudden Lani grabbed hold of their shoulders and screamed,

"AND SHE'S GORGEOUS! I CAN'T COMPETE AT ALL! NO WONDER HUNK LOVES HER AND HE'LL NEVER NOTICE ME AND I'LL HAVE TO BE THE GODMOTHER OF ALL THEIR CUTE, SMART, AND EXTREMELY GENUINELY POLITE AND SWEET ROCK-HUMAN BABIES!"

With that, Lani threw her arms around Pidge and sobbed into their shoulder.

"Uh, there there?" Pidge said, gently patting Lani on the back, looking over at Allura and Tali for help. Allura stood up and came over to put a hand on Lani's shoulder.

"From what I have observed, Hunk only has friendship with Shay, rather like you have with him." Allura said.

"Allura, that may not be entirely helpful." Tali said, her point accentuated by a keening wail from Lani.

Pidge sighed.

"Look, Lani, calling Shay Hunk's girlfriend is just a running joke between us. Nothing more than that." They said. "And, you know, you could just tell him how you feel."

"No, I can't!" Lani said with a sniff, rubbing her eyes. "Because if I like him, but he doesn't like me… Then I've totally screwed up our entire friendship and things will be awkward and never be like they were before and… And I can't lose that!"

Pidge took a deep breath and turned to look at the corner of the ceiling like there was a camera there. They took another deep breath and said to Lani,

"So, then, you're just never going to tell him? Even if there's a chance he could feel the same way?"

"Look, I'm more of an arts and humanities type of student, all the math and science goes right over my head." Lani said. "But even I know the probability of that chance is… Well, it's not good."

"I don't recommend it." Tali said sullenly from where she sat on the bed, glaring down at her toes.

"Do not recommend what?" Allura asked.

"Not telling him. Not taking that chance, however slim you think it might be." Tali said. "You tell him how you feel. If your friendship really is that strong, it will go back to how it was before. Or it won't, and that's okay too. But you don't know what's going to happen in the future. You don't want… something to happen and he'll never know. Or you'll never know. If you're too worried about what might go wrong…"

"You'll miss out on a chance to do something great." Pidge finished. Tali nodded.

"Seize the moment, carpe the quiznak out of that diem. Never, ever, miss a chance. Be cautious, but not to the point that it holds you back." Tali said. "Especially when it comes to your feelings."

"I concur." Allura said with a nod. "You do not want to wake up one day and realize you lost everything."

"This is the most depressing girl talk ever." Pidge said. "Why is this supposed to be fun again?" They glanced at Lani, still sniffling some. "But they're right."

Lani bit her lip.

"I'll tell him." She said. "But… Not now. After this mission…"

"Do what you've got to do." Tali said with a shrug.

"Who's sleeping with you tonight?"

Shiro blinked once, processing the question for a moment.

"No one, and please don't use that phrasing. It makes it sound weirder than it already is." He said.

"Yeah, okay, whatever," Tali said, pushing past Shiro to enter his room, going over to sit on his bead. "And now you have someone."

"Look, I don't need someone every night." Shiro said with a sigh, coming over to sit beside Tali.

Tali was momentarily quiet.

"I'm the one who needs the company tonight." She said. Shiro frowned and studied her.

"Did something happen?" He asked.

"Not really, but… Trying to help Lani sort out her problems and feelings and all that junk… Well, basically I'm regretting a whole lot. Of everything I didn't say when I really should have. To Matt." Tali said, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

Shiro carefully put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him in a hug.

"We're going to find him," He said reassuringly. "Has Pidge showed you all the information they have found?"

"Yeah, they have." Tali said. "But… Shiro, what if it's all for nothing? What if I'm still too late? What if…"

"Hey, hey, don't you start that." Shiro said, a bit sharper than he initially intended. "We're going to find him. Alive. And we're all going to go home. Okay?"

Tali hesitated and curled up against her friend, tears silently rolling down her cheeks.

"I hope you're right, Shiro." She said. "Because I can't do that again."

Pidge wasn't quite sure what they were doing, walking towards Shiro's room.

Maybe Allura and Tali were right; maybe if they didn't tell Shiro, they'd regret it someday.

That didn't make this any easier.

Fortunately, they knew they could easily play it off if they chickened out. Ask Shiro if he had found someone to bunk with for the night, that's right.

So that's how they ended up outside of Shiro's door, taking deep breaths and trying to muster up the courage to knock. They raised their fist and—

"Can't do what again?" Shiro's voice said from inside, confused.

"Whole-heartedly believe that I will never get the chance to tell someone I love how I feel." Tali said, also from inside. "I don't ever want to feel like that again. That weight, knowing I have to live with it until the day I die… I can't, Shiro. I won't. I… I will never, ever, let that happen again. Never, ever hesitate to tell the people I love how I feel. I've lost too much. I won't lose anymore."

"You won't." Shiro assured her. "I promise, you won't."

"You can't promise me that, Shiro. I can't and won't let you. You've got too many promises as is."

"Yes, but this is a promise I'll make sure I can keep. A promise for someone I care about very much."

Pidge sucked in a breath, face heating with shame and embarrassment.

Tali liked Shiro. Everything she had said, before, it was all about Shiro…

And Shiro… Shiro liked her.

Of course he did. Why were they even surprised?

Swallowing their pride and tears, Pidge walked away from the doorway, making their way quickly to their room to cry.

Lani rubbed her eye with a yawn before focusing on the screen in front of her again. She was trying to make sure that the new page that she had added to the blog was ready to go, no typos or coding problems. She was rather excited about this page, which would link to articles she had written and the videos of the various planets they had visited, as well as information about other planets and races in the Voltron Alliance.

She jumped slightly as she heard the door to the bridge open behind her. Sheepishly, she turned around in Hunk's chair and peeked over the back of it. She relaxed slightly as she saw Shay.

Shay's yellow eyes found her immediately.

"Oh. Forgive me, I thought everyone else was asleep…" The Balmeran said, looking a little embarrassed.

"I'm burning the midnight oil," Lani said with a shrug. "What about you?"

Shay hesitated, then took some steps forward, coming to sit on the floor beside Lani, staring out at the stars before them.

"I wanted to see the sky," She explained. "All those stars… When I was a child, we could never be on the surface. I used to look at the sky from the entrances to the mines, looking straight up. It always looked so small, the stars so few. But then, once I finally got to the surface, I realized I only ever saw a little part. That there was so much more. It was scary, but beautiful."

"I know what you mean." Lani said with a nod. "It's hard to believe there's so many of them, to get just a glimpse at how vast the galaxy, the universe, actually is. We grew up on an island, me and Hunk. It's part of this small chain of islands called Hawai'i, and we're from an island called Molokai. And we're basically on this relatively small bit of land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and there aren't as many people, so there aren't as many lights. So we always had this advantage of being able to see the stars so clearly. The sky was always huge and vast to us. But now, I'm here, on a spaceship, with aliens and robot cats and stuff, and the sky is all there is. Home is far away, and the stars are all around us. It's like being swallowed by the sky."

"We are only small parts in a very large universe." Shay said. "We come from very different places within the universe, and fate still brought us together, over much distance."

"Fate is weird like that, huh?" Lani said with a small, content sigh. "It's really weird, actually. Hunk, he never wanted to leave Molokai, but took the offer the Garrison gave him. Me? I always wanted to leave. I loved the island, but… I wanted to explore. I wanted to see the world. I was a bit jealous, when he left, to go to the Garrison. Kind of angry. I wanted to go and do and see everything."

"I felt the same way about the surface." Shay said. "Everyone told me, I needed to stay down below. We were slaves, but we were safe down below, that below was where the Balmera could protect us. But then Hunk and Coran came, and told me of all that was beyond the surface, beyond where I lived my whole life… It was like a child's tale come to life."

"Science fiction come to life." Lani said with a smile. "Now look at us, Shay. We're both traveling to see different worlds. It's really awesome."

"I agree." Shay said. She was quiet for a moment, then said, "We are very lucky, are we not? To know the same person, who was able to give us the same opportunity?"

Lani looked out at the stars, smile growing.

"Yes." She whispered. "We're very, very lucky."

Fate was a weird thing.

Did she dare tempt it?


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven:

"Oh, look at how beautiful she is!" Shay said wistfully, her hands clasped together and her eyes even brighter as she gazed out the window at the Queen Mother Balmera.

"She is definitely much healthier than our Balmera was when Voltron came." Rax said in agreement.

"She is much stronger and older," Coran said. "If my estimations are correct, the Balmera you hail from is one of the Queen's younger offspring."

"So, what's the plan?" Tali asked, leaning against the back of Shiro's seat, looking over his shoulder. Pidge bit their lip and turned away, eyes burning a bit. They couldn't let this bother them, distract them. This mission was too important.

"Divide and conquer, mostly." Shiro said. "Pidge will take the Green Lion down first and drop BLIP tech and our drones into the mines so that we can find the Balmerans and get a better idea of what's going on down there. Lance, Keith, I want you two at the ready in case Pidge needs back-up. Then, we'll split into two groups: one to go take down the Galra center of command and the other to protect and rally the Balmerans, letting them know we're here to help. So, Pidge, Keith, Lance and I will take on the command center while Hunk and Allura lead everyone else to the Balmerans. Sound good?"

"Sounds like a plan." Lance said. "One Voltron special with a side of freed Balmera, coming right up!"

Pidge stood up and went over to the entry to Green's hanger, looking over their shoulder.

"Be back in a few ticks."

Once they were down in the hanger and in Green's cockpit, they waited until Coran gave the okay. Activating Green's invisibility, Pidge and Green flew out of the hanger and towards the surface. Immediately, they saw something unusual. Or, perhaps, the lack of something.

"As far as my sensors can tell, the surface isn't heavily fortified." They said, tapping a few buttons. "Sending visuals."

"Hmm, that is very peculiar." Coran said.

"Good peculiar or bad peculiar?" Keith asked from Red's cockpit, also studying the images Pidge had sent.

"Not sure." Coran said. "All of the planets the Galra have control have at least one fortification visible from orbit. But there aren't even any indicators of weapons, but I believe the increase of foliage is aiding the Galra in that regard."

"Pidge, be careful." Shiro said.

"I've got it Shiro," Pidge said. "I'm dropping the last of the BLIP tech now and heading back."

As they flew back to the Castle, they listened to the evaluations of the BLIP tech.

"Huh, the mines are mostly empty." Hunk said.

"These areas look as if they have been worked on recently," Rax observed. "But there is no one there."

"Not even in the living quarters area." Shay said, sounding confused.

"It looks like this here is the Galra's base," Coran said. "And that is where most of the beings on the planet are at the moment."

"Is there something special going on there?" Lani asked.

"Perhaps. Hunk, can you guide the drones towards that area?" Allura requested.

"On it." Hunk said.

"Okay, so if all of those little dots are individual people, either Galra or Balmerans," Shinji said. "What exactly is that big dot?"

Pidge entered the hanger just as Hunk got the drone in position.

"Oh no…" Coran said, eyes widening when he saw what is happening. "This is not good…"

"What is that?" Lance asked as they watched… something underneath the rocks under the surface of the Balmera as it moved and squirmed. Balmerans and Galra drones stood back at a distance, scaffolding built up around it from which they could watch, or, perhaps more accurately, the Galra drones could easily target both the Balmerans and the moving thing.

"The Queen Mother is pregnant," Coran said.

"And that's the baby moving, then?" Lani said.

"Why is this a bad thing, Coran?" Shiro asked, immediately getting up to come around to Coran's side to see exactly what the older Altean was seeing.

"Because it appears that the Queen Mother is close to labor, perhaps already in the beginning stages." Coran said grimly. "That is why the Balmerans are nearby… To assist the labor… Those dirty rotten quiznakers, building their base practically on top of the Queen's reproductive system…"

"That's why the Balmerans don't like outsiders." Hunk said with realization. "Because if the Balmerans rebel, if they do anything wrong, if anyone the Galra don't approve of gets on the planet, the Galra will hurt the Balmera and her baby, or her chances of having a baby…"

"And if the infant is harmed, so is the Queen Mother." Rax said, fists clenching at his sides. "If the infant dies within the Queen, it will begin to fossilize too soon. Not only will that destroy any chances of the Queen being able to reproduce again, but it will also kill her."

"But if the Queen Mother dies, then the Balmera basically falls apart. No crystals, no base. What do the Galra get out of running the risk of a dead Balmera?" Keith asked.

"With luck, enough time to harvest the heart of both Mother and infant." Coran said. "The most powerful and rarest of Balmeran crystals."

"This changes the plan entirely." Shiro said with a frown. "We've got to draw out the Galra, protect the Balmerans and the baby."

"Our original plan can still work, with some modifications." Allura said. "Or, at least, our original divide and conquer scheme. The Yellow Lion is best suited to protect the baby from fallen debris, as her shields are the strongest. Shay, Rax and myself can assist the Balmerans if Shinji, Tali and Lani will cover our backs."

"We'll need to get you all down there first in case our attempts to draw out the Galra result in them turning on the Balmerans." Shiro said. "Pidge, how fast can you modify Yellow for invisibility?"

"I don't know," Pidge admitted. "Yellow's extra bulky in order to take harder hits compared to the other Lions. More space to cover. Plus, Green's the only one who has a fast response time to modifications. But I may be able to get Yellow invisible for only a few minutes."

"Get on it," Shiro said. "We don't know how much time we'll have."

"I'm going to need Hunk," Pidge said.

"Like I'm going to let you do modifications on my baby girl without me." Hunk said with a slight scoff. He turned his back to Pidge and said, "Hop on."

Pidge got a small running start then jumped onto Hunk's back, who then ran with Pidge on his back to the entrance to Yellow's hanger.

"Lance, Keith, help me and Coran figure out a plan of attack." Shiro said.

Both teens nodded and were at Shiro's side instantly.

About an hour later, the team was ready to go.

"They don't have but a few fighters from the looks of it." Shiro explained as they reconvened for the last minute battle plan. "Like Marth, they're predominately reliant on ships coming in."

"The forestation is too thick and grows too fast for hanger construction," Coran added. "Therefore, they only have one."

"So, Keith and I are going to take on the fighters. Pidge, I want you to go down in the Green Lion along with the Yellow Lion and get a start on making a game plan for taking out the drones down below. While Keith and I distract the fighters, Lance and Blue will sneak around to the entrance of the hanger and seal it off, then meet up with Pidge to take on the drones."

"Should we be expecting sniper fire?" Hunk asked, glancing at Lance.

"Only if things do not go according to plan." Lance said. "So, tentative yes."

"Let's suit up." Shiro said.

Ten minutes later, Lani was in the cockpit of the Yellow Lion along with Hunk and the two Balmeran teens, waiting for Keith and Shiro to engage battle with the fighters. Shiro took the shot on the hanger and within ticks, the fighters flooded out, no doubt thinking that they had stood a chance against only two Lions of Voltron.

"Activating invisibility," Hunk said, pressing a button.

"Right behind you," Pidge said over the comms. Yellow's invisibility gave out the moment the Lion entered the cavern, Pidge deactivating Green's invisibility as they flew in behind Yellow.

"Should we be concerned that these tunnels are big enough to accommodate the Lions?" Allura asked from Green's cockpit.

"It appears to be natural erosion," Rax said, studying the tunnels as they made their way through. "But, also very sudden."

"What do you mean?" Lani asked with a frown.

"The ground shows different variations of exposure to having been walked on or equipment moved." Rax explained. "The Balmera expanded this area not too long ago."

"Definitely a sign the Queen is close to delivery." Coran said over the comms. "Expanding the tunnel networks is an indicator to the Balmerans that the Queen will need their assistance, and is making it easier for them to migrate towards where they are needed. They will recede in about a decade post-partum."

"How long does a Queen Mother's labor usually last?" Tali asked.

"A full seven diurnal cycles, at the very least." Coran said.

"Any other indicators to tell how far along the Balmera is, labor or otherwise?" Hunk asked.

"There may be some ground tremors centralized around the infant," Coran said. "They are much weaker, however."

The Lions stopped inside the large cavern, where thousands of wide-eyed Balmerans were staring at them. Surprisingly, all of the guard drones were gone.

Pidge parked the Green Lion and Hunk stopped Yellow just long enough to unload his passengers.

"Greetings!" Shay called. "We mean you, your Balmera and the infant no harm! We are here to help!"

"Offworlder, you know not of what you speak." Said an adult male Balmeran. Meanwhile, a small child tugged on his tunic, pointing at the Lions.

"Papa, it's like from Grandpa's stories!" The child said with fascination.

"These Lions make up part of Voltron, and we are here to free you from the Galra and ensure that the Queen Mother has a safe delivery." Allura said, stepping forward. "Please, allow the Yellow Paladin to guide the Yellow Lion over to—"

"You can help the Queen?" Asked a young, Balmeran female, stepping forward.

"We can and will do anything within our power," Allura confirmed with a nod.

The Balmerans all exchanged glances and the adult male—who seemed to have some sort of authority position—closed his eyes and sighed.

"Please, if you can… We do not have much time." He said.

"Much time?" Tali repeated. "What's wrong?"

"We tried to stop them," Said the young woman, pressing the heel of her hand to her face. "But they would not listen… They would continue on for the glory of the Emperor…"

"They wanted to create a new series of tunnels. The mining equipment got too close to the Queen's reproduction system…" Said an elderly male, shaking his head. "It is currently obstructing the infant's birth route. If the infant cannot get out, it will die."

"And so will the Queen." Allura said with a grimace. "Coran, are you hearing this?"

"I am indeed," Coran said grimly. "Number Five, can you see if you can get any visuals?"

"On it," Pidge said. She turned to the Balmerans. "Can someone lead me there?"

One nodded and stepped forward, gesturing to head towards a certain tunnel.

"I'll come with you," Tali said, joining Pidge and the Balmeran.

Allura watched the two leave, then said to the remaining Balmerans,

"The Yellow Paladin is going to position the Yellow Lion over the infant. The Yellow Lion has thick armor that will protect the infant from any falling debris."

Allura then gave Hunk a thumbs-up, and while he moved Yellow, she said into her comms,

"Lance, status report?"

"Well, Princess, I'm in the hanger control booth, but it looks like Keith and Shiro are currently facing everything they've got aircraft-wise." Lance said, looking out at the empty hanger. "And I'm not picking up on any drones down here with us… Allura, I think something's wrong here…"

Allura took a deep breath. She had a twisting feeling in her gut that told her the same thing.

It appeared that there was a full retreat…

The Galra were expecting the Queen Balmera to die. And they knew it would be a violent death that they would wait out, in order to get the payout: the heart of the Queen and that of its unborn child.

"Stand by, Lance." Allura said. "Shiro, Keith, report."

"Scanners are picking up on more fighter craft coming from off-planet." Shiro said. "There's still a few fighters we haven't taken down. Back-up requested."

"I'll send Lance," Allura said, knowing Lance could hear the conversation. "Lance?"

"Copy that," Lance said. "Blue and I are on the way."

"I am going to try and keep Hunk and Pidge down here for as long as possible," Allura said. "If need be, I'll take the Green Lion and assist you."

"Roger that." Shiro said.

Allura nodded, though made a note in the back of her head to someday learn who this 'Roger' person was…

Meanwhile, Pidge carefully surrounded the piece of mining equipment.

"Coran, are you getting these visuals?" They asked.

"Sure am, Number Five." Coran said grimly. "This is quite a delicate situation we have here… Not only because of the equipment, but because of how exposed this area is, specifically for birth."

"Right, okay, I'm not going to think about the implications of what that means concerning where I am currently standing." Tali said, looking up at the large gap above them, where she could see laser fire, actual fire, and ice being shot into the air.

"I'm going to try and find a place to land the Castle and bring some equipment down," Coran said. "Hang on tightly."

"Can do," Pidge said. Pidge sighed as they examined the equipment again, and glancing down at the ground from where they stood on the scaffolding. They stretched their hand out against the Balmera and said, "Don't worry. We're going to take care of you and your baby. You're in luck, our Yellow Paladin is both our team medic and team engineer. Between him, me, Coran and Tali, we'll get this taken care of in no time."

There was a glow that came in the space between Pidge's hand and the Balmera.

"Whoa." Tali said. "What was that?"

"Energy transfer." Pidge said. "Allura and Keith are better at it. Altean magic and Galran quintessence. But the rest of us have been figuring it out a bit; we've gotten a lot stronger as a result of the bond with our Lions."

"Again, whoa." Tali said. She took a step forward to look at the piece of equipment in the Balmera wall. "Okay, so, usually, if this was a non-fossilized being who bled, we couldn't just get it out without there being a lot of bleeding. But it looks like that the Balmera kind of closed up around it? So if we just pulled it out, we'd hurt the Balmera."

"Right…" Pidge said. They hesitated, then said, "Um, Tali? I, uh… I need to tell you something."

"Uh, okay?" Tali said, looking up, confused.

Pidge bit their lip, then said,

"Um, last night, I might have accidentally overheard you talking with Shiro."

"Oh?" Tali said, eyes widening. "Oh… So you heard…"

"Yeah," Pidge said. "And, I just wanted to let you know, I'm happy for you and I'll support you two."

"Really?" Tali said, visibly relaxing, a small smile starting to grow on her face. "That's actually quite a relief. You were the one I was most concerned about, to be honest… So, having your support… Thank you, for that."

"You're welcome," Pidge said, trying to swallow down their feelings and broken heart. "But, you know I'm obliged to give a shovel talk, right? You hurt him, I hurt you and that sort of thing?"

Tali laughed.

"Yeah, but I promise, you have nothing to worry about. After all this… I just want to get my arms around him and not let go, you know?"

Pidge glanced back at the equipment, kneeling down so Tali couldn't see their face and their teary eyes.

"Yeah," Pidge whispered. "I want that, too."

"Pidge? Tali?"

Pidge stood up again and went over to the edge of the scaffolding, waving at their friends who were arriving.

"Up here," They called. "Coran's on his way with more tools and stuff. He's trying to find a way to land the Castle."

Within moments, Hunk, Lani, Shinji, Shay, Rax, Allura, and a young female Balmeran who introduced herself as Ala were all standing around the equipment.

"Could we dismantle the machine?" Rax asked as Hunk conducted his own examination, occasionally humming to himself in thought.

"I think so," Hunk said. "But that can only get us so far. In theory, it should work in reverse the same way it goes forward. With an energy transfer, how fast could she heal after we took this out?"

"The Queen's ability to heal weakens near delivery, in order to store up energy necessary for the birthing process." Ala explained. "A lot of energy would be required to aid the Queen in healing."

Immediately, both Pidge and Hunk turned and pointed at Allura, saying,

"No!"

Allura frowned.

"I said nothing…" She said.

"And yet we knew exactly what you were thinking. And no. You nearly killed yourself last time you did a huge energy transfer ceremony." Pidge said.

"And from the sounds of it, you might actually succeed in the killing-yourself-thing this time." Hunk added.

"I third that negative," Coran said over the comms.

Allura sighed but nodded.

"Alright," She said. "If we remove the equipment, but leave the damage, what are the repercussions?"

"The Queen will not be able to heal the injury until after the birth," Ala said. "And, left exposed for too long, it could cause this section to crumble, leading to the inability to give birth again."

"So, what can we do?" Shinji asked. "We can't leave it in, but we'd cause just as much damage taking it out."

"Not like there's a band-aid or something we can put over it," Lani said with a frown.

Hunk suddenly snapped his fingers with a grin and said,

"Lance."

"Lance?" Everyone repeated, giving him an odd look.

"Hunk, can you elaborate?" Allura asked.

"Okay, so, when the Castle's first Balmera crystal got blown up by not-Rover, some of the shards from the crystal embedded into the skin of Lance's lower back, where there wasn't any armor." Hunk said. "We didn't know it until he was already in the healing pod, though, because our armor under-suits seals up so quickly, and because there wasn't any bleeding there since the shards were a pressure. So, when he was in the healing pod, since the shards were still there, his skin didn't quite grow back together right. The pod kind of fused his skin and the shards together during the healing process, to the point that we can see the shards, but what we see isn't the entire bit of crystal, because skin regrew over the shards to some extent, covering the edges. So if we get a crystal or something to fit in the hole we're about to make, then once the Queen has more energy to heal, the crystal will just fuse in as part of that healing."

"Coran, opinions?" Allura asked.

"It would work, especially as the crystal is very natural…" Coran said after a few seconds of consideration. "But we'd need to make sure we can fill any gaps the crystal can't. I've got just the thing, be down in two shakes of a mortians tail."

"But can we even get a crystal at this time?" Shay asked, looking at Ala, who contemplated.

"Perhaps…" She said. "There were some that have not yet been mined. My people and I can harvest them and bring them. Certainly one or more can be used."

"Alright, then we have a plan." Allura said with a nod.

Suddenly, everything around them began to shake.

"Uh, please tell me that was the baby Balmera that did that." Lani said. "Coran said that the baby could make the ground shake."

"No, that was not the infant," Ala said with a frown, rushing to the ladder.

"I will go with her," Rax said, following Ala. "I will inform the others about the need for the crystals."

"Shiro, Lance, Keith, what's going on?" Allura asked over the comm. "We're experiencing unnatural ground tremors down here."

"Sorry, Princess, but they back-up crew has got some heavy firepower." Shiro said. "We're going to draw their fire away from the surface."

"We're going to have to get to work, and fast." Hunk said, beginning to pull tools out of the kit he had brought with him from the Yellow Lion. "This thing usually can only be operated by a Galra, and since Keith's busy, we're going to need to hotwire it."

"Awesome," Tali said, grinning. "Haven't hotwired anything in years…"

"Garrison shenanigans?" Pidge asked as they opened up the panel exposing a mess of wires.

"Ah, you know me so well," Tali said.

"What can I do?" Shay asked.

"Can you tell the Queen that we're doing everything we can to help, and that I'm sorry because I know this is going to hurt, but it's the only way," Hunk said.

Shay nodded and pressed her hands to the walls.

"I've got the Castle landed, but I'm going to need an extra hand or two," Coran said over the comms.

"Shinji, come with me," Allura instructed. Shinji nodded and followed Allura down.

"What can I do?" Lani asked.

"Keep an eye out for Coran, Allura and Shinji, or Rax and Ala and the other Balmerans with the crystal," Hunk said before turning back to the hotwiring project.

"Oh… 'kay." Lani said, struggling hard not to feel hurt and useless as she retreated to the edge of the scaffolding.

She tried to swallow her pride. After all, wasn't she who told Shiro from the very beginning that she had no skills to contribute whatsoever?

She was useless for missions. Everyone else seemed to have something to do, something to contribute, even Shinji, despite how infrequently he was spotted throughout a day on board the ship.

And she was… What? A blogger? A cook? An expert look-out?

She glanced out of the corner of her eye as Shay pressed her forehead to the rock wall, both hands palm-flat against it, glowing.

Lani liked Shay, but the feelings of inferiority compared to the young Balmeran female were coming back stronger than ever at that moment.

"Alright, I think this thing is ready to run," Pidge said, sitting back on their haunches as Hunk quickly checked the connection, resulting in the engine humming. Hunk just as quickly cut it off.

"Let's wait until we've got the crystal and Coran's sealant." He said.

Lani straightened as she saw the two Alteans and Shinji enter the cavern. She waved at them, getting a little closer to the edge.

And that's when the ground began to shake again.

Her eyes went wide as she felt herself losing balance, teetering towards the edge, and the long fall that awaited her.

She vaguely remembered screaming.

She vaguely remembered hearing Hunk shout her name.

She vaguely remembered a hand grabbing her wrist, something pressing against her body in mid-air, wrapping around her.

She didn't remember closing her eyes, but it must have happened close to impact.

What she vividly remembered was her knees and palms aching from where she landed and rolled on the stone floor.

What she vividly remembered was a yellow-and-white, armor-encased arm wrapped tightly around her waist.

What she vividly remembered was the sound of Hunk's labored breathing in her ear, mixing with the sound of her heartbeat.

What she vividly remembered was the heart-breaking way Pidge screamed, "HUNK!", their voice cracking mid-way.

What she vividly remembered was the horrified expressions on Allura, Shinji and Coran's faces as they pulled her out of Hunk's embrace.

What she vividly remembered was shaking as she continued to kneel on the floor for a second, taking a deep breath before turning around. Shinji kneeling beside her, asking her if she was hurt, but she couldn't respond, couldn't think.

What she vividly remembered was the conversation happening behind her.

"Hunk? Hunk! Open your eyes, please!" Allura begged.

"'Llura? What's wrong?"

"Don't move!" Coran ordered, his voice stern in a way that Lani thought she'd never hear. But there was concern and fear there, too…

"Why not? Oh… That's why…"

She vividly remembered feeling her blood run cold, terrified of what was happening, what she would see when she turned around.

And she looked anyway.

She had to clasp a hand to her mouth to keep from letting out a horrified scream.

There was a long, thin piece of scrap metal that had been near the bottom of the scaffolding, discarded like junk. What it's former purpose was, she had no idea.

But now, none of that mattered.

Because that piece of metal was sticking out behind Hunk, from just under the chest plate of his armor.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight:

Pidge quickly descended the scaffolding, Tali and Shay behind her, all three rushing to Hunk's side.

"Hunk, are you alright?" Pidge asked, falling to their knees beside Allura in front of Hunk, Coran sitting behind the Yellow Paladin and visually examining the wound.

"Well, yeah, all things considering," Hunk said, glancing over his shoulder at the piece of metal currently sticking out of his body.

"You are remarkably calm given the situation." Tali said, her own voice tight as she tried to keep calm herself, trying to swallow back tears of fear, frustration and helplessness.

"Freaking out's only going to make it worse. And it doesn't hurt, really." Hunk said, then he frowned. He looked and sounded a little dazed. "Probably not a good thing. A nerve maybe got severed somewhere… But, like, I can still feel my toes and fingers and stuff so it's not the spine, at least, and it's probably adrenaline. Oh wow, I'm rambling, too, yeah, definitely adrenaline."

"We need to know how deep this went in and where it is," Coran said. "If there's an exit wound or not. Allura, help me unstrap the armor, but don't remove it yet; the metal may be stuck in the armor. Pidge, your hands are going to be the best for fitting between the armor and Hunk's chest, being the smallest."

Pidge nodded and quickly began stripping off the arm pieces of their own armor while Allura and Coran carefully undid the straps, loosening Hunk's armor. When Coran gave Pidge a nod, they took a deep breath and carefully slipped their hand under the chest-plate.

"Geez, Pidge, at least take me out to dinner before you start feeling me up," Hunk said teasingly, making Pidge smile in spite of the situation.

"I'll take you to a movie, too, while I'm at it. Whole night on the town, just for you." Pidge said, slipping their arm up a little further to get their hand up towards Hunk's shoulder. That was when they felt something hard, just beneath Hunk's collar-bone, and it definitely was not bone. There wasn't a tear in the under-suit, nor did it feel wet with blood, so Pidge said, "Okay, so, up at an angle, just under the collar bone, hasn't made a full exit."

"—Lura? Allura, what's going on?"

Allura jumped slightly at hearing Shiro's voice, took a deep breath, then said,

"There has been… An accident. Hunk fell from some scaffolding and… landed in some debris… And, well… There is this piece of metal that is currently in Hunk's upper body."

"WHAT?" Was the response, loud enough to be heard from Allura's earrings (which made her wince) as well as the echoes from the abandoned helmets up above.

"I'm fine!" Hunk said, trying to make his voice loud enough so that Shiro, Lance and Keith could hear.

"English may be my second language, but I'm pretty sure that this is not the definition of 'fine'." Shinji said as he helped Coran gently remove the chest plate.

"Then we have even more problems than we thought," Shiro said grimly. "Zarkon and Haggar must have figured out we're here, because we have a Robeast situation."

"And we need to form Voltron," Allura finished. She took another deep breath and nodded. "Pidge and I will be there shortly."

Pidge nodded and went looking for their helmet.

"Wait, but Yellow's protecting the baby Balmera!" Hunk said, Coran and Shinji's hands quickly coming down on his shoulders as he tried to move.

"But if Voltron can't be formed, the baby will be in even more danger," Coran said. Hunk nodded, then reached for his bayard, holding it out to Allura.

"Hunk, piloting the Lions is one thing, but I cannot activate any of the bayards," Allura said.

"Maybe not, but Yellow's got a shoulder canon that is pretty useful, and this is the only way to get that," Hunk said. "You may not be her Paladin, but Yellow knows how many people are relying on her, relying on Voltron. She'll let you use the cannon if you need it."

Allura hesitated, but then accepted the bayard.

"Alright," She said. "I will… I will do my best, as I know the Yellow Lion will do her best."

"And we'll do our best here," Lani said, crawling across the floor in order to take Hunk's hand.

Allura nodded, and then grabbed Pidge, the two running back towards the Lions.

"Alright, first we should cut down on material to work with," Tali said, gently putting a hand on Hunk's back as she examined where the metal piece entered.

"Should've asked Pidge to use their bayard to cut it before they left," Hunk said. His voice had started to become sleepy, which alarmed the humans, Coran, and Shay.

"Hunk, we need you to stay awake now," Coran said.

"Right, got it. Sorry." Hunk said, blinking a few times.

"I think I can use my gloves to get through the metal to cut it down, but I don't know how fast it would be or how fast it would heat up the rest of it," Shinji said.

"Do not worry about the latter," Shay said. She held up her own hands, palms out. "Heat does not bother Balmerans like it does humans."

"An insulator, perfect," Tali said. "Plus, a way to help keep it steady." Suddenly, she saw something on the ground. "Oh, Pidge didn't put their arm plates back on…"

"That is a good thing," Coran said. "Pidge has modified the armor to include a scanner that they say works as an 'x-ray' as they call it. I'd rather have a more exact idea of what we're dealing with and where it is before we start."

Tali nodded and quickly grabbed up the armor pieces, handing them to Coran, who had a much better understanding of how it worked.

While Coran was activating the scanner, Lani noticed that the hand she was holding was beginning to shake. Her eyes widened as she went to put her fingers at the pulse point on Hunk's wrist, only to be met with the hard armor.

"Quiznak…" She muttered, giving up on any idea of figuring out how to take off the arm plates and reached up to put her fingers on the side of Hunk's neck.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no…" She whispered.

"Hmm?" Hunk hummed shakily, giving her an odd look. "What's wrong?"

"Listen to me, Hunk, you've really got to try and stay awake, okay?" Lani said, moving her fingers from his neck to his cheek, making him look at her. "I think you're going into shock."

"Oh, good, you've got the same diagnosis I got…" Hunk said. "I'm bleeding somewhere… The pods can fix it…"

"Yeah, but we still have to get you to the pods," Lani said. "And I may not be an expert in magic space medicine, but I don't think it's going to get this metal out."

"No, but before we remove it, we need to get some fluids running," Coran said. "Lani, move over for just a second. Shay, Shinji, help her hold Hunk still for the scan."

Lani held her breath until Coran indicated that the scan was over.

"Wanna see…" Hunk mumbled. Lani gasped when Coran did show Hunk the scan. The metal was evident, as were all the bones. The metal had entered just under where Hunk's chest-plate ended, cracking several ribs as it went up, going mostly through the abundant muscle of Hunk's upper body.

She did not want to think about how much blood there would be, how much blood the pressure of the metal was preventing from gushing out.

She also did not want to think about how this was her fault. That he wouldn't be sitting here, breathing shallowly, if she hadn't been more careful.

Hunk just simply nodded at the scan.

"Doesn't look like there's any ridges or sharp areas on the metal we need to be concerned about, other than making sure we don't do more damage to your ribcage," Coran said. "I'm going to get a stretcher, some fluids and medication for you while Shinji, Shay and Tali cut this down some."

Hunk nodded again, swaying some.

"Okay, can't have that," Lani said. She scooted as close to Hunk as she could, folded her legs in a criss-cross in front of her, then carefully wrapped her arms around Hunk's waist, gently pulling him forward so that his head rested on her shoulder. He settled there for a moment, then raised his head at hearing noise from one of the cavern's entrances.

Lani looked over to see Rax leading the Balmerans and their crystal into the cavern, the Balmerans whispering in confusion at seeing part of the Voltron team huddled on the floor. Rax ran over and Lani saw the horror in his yellow eyes.

"What happened?" He asked.

"We learned that the Galra really need to have better workplace safety standards," Hunk said. He chuckled slightly, weakly. "Do you think we can sue? Which do you think could take down Zarkon first, a battle in space with Voltron or a battle in the courtroom with Pidge's mom?"

"I don't know whether I should tell you to be quiet or keep talking," Lani said.

"Give us a few minutes to get Hunk out of here, then I'll help with the machine up there," Tali said.

"No, wait!" Hunk said, suddenly sitting up and only Shay's hands stopped him from toppling backwards onto the metal, which did get jostled, causing him to wince and grimace. "No, better idea!"

"What are you talking about?" Shinji asked.

"The Balmera!" Hunk exclaimed, gasping slightly. "Better idea… Less damage… Still need crystal, but it can be cut down… Just need heat, lots of it… Oh, need Keith…"

"Hunk, we know not what you are talking about," Shay said gently.

"Got idea… Shinji's gonna melt the metal to cut it down to get me to the Castle, right?" Hunk said.

"Yeah?" Lani prompted when Hunk paused to take a shaky breath.

"Then… Then that machine is all metal… We just need to melt it down…" Hunk said. "Gloves or Shiro's or Tali's lightsaber arm won't work on such a big machine. But the Red Lion has literal firepower. Keith can have her melt it in just a few minutes. The gap won't be as big, and really metal is sort of natural, it comes from the ground, so if it all can't be removed, no big deal, right?"

"That would work…" Rax said. "I will confirm with the Elders. It took a great deal to convince them of the original plan."

"The only thing I don't like is that this plan is heavily reliant on Voltron defeating that Robeast up there, and fast." Tali said.

"They'll be alright," Hunk said, lowering his head against Lani's shoulder again as she gently rubbed his lower back. "They've got this…"

Pidge and Allura flew the Lions out and quickly found the other three dodging what appeared to be sonic booms coming from a Robeast.

"Be careful!" Shiro called out. "One of those blasts hit Blue, and she was down for a full sixty ticks before coming back online."

"Fortunately before we hit the ground," Lance added.

"Alright, sonic booms, that's new. And actually quite interesting, the science and physics behind it." Pidge said, dodging one of the blasts. "And as cool as this latest creation of the Witch is, it's going down because I'm ninety-nine point nine percent sure that this thing hit the Balmera, right? About, oh, five point three minutes ago?"

"How'd you know?" Keith asked with a grunt as he pulled Red up.

"Because that is the exact length of time it has been since Hunk got hurt," Allura said.

"Well, then, let's stop waiting around and FORM VOLTRON!" Shiro said.

Seconds later, Voltron was formed, shield up and ready.

"Keith, sword!" Shiro said.

Voltron's sword appeared between Red and Green, and Voltron charged the Robeast, who issue a sonic boom that sent the robot flying.

"The systems are going haywire!" Allura shouted.

"Blue's almost done with a reboot," Lance reported. "Hang on!"

Lance threw Voltron's right leg back and activated Blue's thrusters, which gave enough resistance for them to stay in the air.

"Systems online!" Pidge reported, sticking out Voltron's left arm and had Green send out a blast to help Lance keep them in the air.

"The Yellow Lion is back up, too," Allura said, also helping in the not-crash-into-the-Balmera task.

"Come on, Red," Keith mumbled as Red's cockpit tried to spark to life again. "You can do it…"

"Black still needs a second," Shiro reported.

"Black and Red took the brunt of it, that's probably why the other three Lions recovered faster," Pidge said. Their eyes widened. "Uh, guys, speaking of fast recovery time!"

"Allura, up!" Lance said, and he and Allura quickly pulled the Lions up into the atmosphere some as the boom went past.

"Okay, sonic booms, what do we know about sonic booms?" Shiro said.

"Uh, sound! It has to do with breaking the sound barrier!" Pidge said. "So, we could muffle the sound? Dampen it or something…"

"We've got a shield, a sword, and a cannon. How are we going to make that work?" Keith asked.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lance saw something flash and he immediately turned to it, afraid that it was an emergency warning. He immediately sucked in a breath as a panel slid open.

"Um, guys… I'm going to try something…" Lance said.

"Something as in?" Shiro asked, mentally sighing in relief as Black came fully online again.

"Something as in 'stick my bayard in this panel and hope for the best'." Lance said, glancing at said bayard in his hand.

"Do it if you're going to, because this thing's aiming at us!" Pidge yelled, eyes widening as the Robeast prepared to strike again.

Lance quickly thrust the bayard in just as the Robeast began to let out a sonic boom.

But the magic of Voltron was faster, and the giant robot was holding another cannon, slightly smaller than the one that Voltron had when using the yellow bayard.

The cannon shot at the Robeast, a frozen blast resembling an icicle hitting the Robeast and spinning it off-balance.

"Nice shot!" Shiro said.

"Yeah, it was really 'cool'!" Pidge said, smirking. At the groans that came in response, Pidge said, "Hey, someone has to make the puns in Hunk's absence!"

"Robeast now, puns later. Fire again!" Shiro said.

"Can it really be 'fired' since it's ice?" Lance said as he used his bayard to trigger the cannon again. However, this time, the cannon did something different, right as the Robeast opened its mouth.

Instead of being hit with ice, the Robeast was blasted with a massive jet of water.

"Huh." Lance said. "I guess Blue took you seriously when you said we needed to 'dampen' the Robeast somehow, Pidge."

"Great. We now have the Lions making bad puns…" Keith said.

"While it is incapacitated, let's get it into space!" Allura said.

"She's right, there is no sound in space, it'll be totally defenseless!" Shiro said.

From there it was a simple toss of the Robeast into the air and Voltron following. A slash with the sword later, and the battle was over.

As soon as the Robeast was finished off, however, something unexpected happened: Voltron fell apart without any of the pilots' awareness.

"What the quiznak?" Keith said, struggling to steady the Red Lion.

Allura gasped as the controls disappeared out from beneath her hands, but the Yellow Lion began moving.

"I… I think it was the Yellow Lion who disbanded us…" Allura said, her voice shaky as the Lion took her towards the planet, a display showing her that the Lion was headed for the Castle.

"Where is she going?" Lance said.

Then, all five answered the question at the same time: "Hunk."

"Ready?" Shinji asked, biting his lower lip as he looked over at Shay, then at Lani, who still had Hunk's head leaning against her shoulder.

"Yes." Shay said.

Lani nodded.

"Yeah…" Hunk said weakly.

"Okay, here we go…" Shinji said, brushing his thumb across his fingers.

"Do you feel anything?" Lani asked Hunk as Shinji put his hand on the metal.

"It's a little bit of pressure? But not bad…" Hunk said. Lani's eyes widened as Hunk's eyes slid shut.

"Oh, no, no, you don't, Hunk, you open your eyes right now and keep talking to me, okay?" She said.

"Hmm?" He mumbled, eyes remaining shut, his body getting more and more slack against hers. Her heart was racing and she said,

"Pika, talk to me, please…"

That got his attention, and he shifted his head to look up at her.

"Pika…" He repeated, sounding out his own name, smiling softly. "Been a while since I've been called that…"

"Yeah, well, it's been a while since you last talked to your Mom and Lulu and Lea…" Lani said. "You know, we should call them. I know you've been e-mailing, but can you figure out how to actually make Skype work out here? Let's do that when you're out of the pod…"

"Not what I meant," Hunk whispered. "Been a while since I've been called that… by you. You haven't called me Pika in years…"

Lani quickly licked her lips.

"Yeah, well…" She said. "You're the one who suddenly changed their name on all of their social media within a week at fancy smarty-pants space school, so I wasn't quite sure if you still wanted to be called by your real name."

"You could have asked," Hunk pointed out. "Just a nickname at school… Not one to be used at home…"

"I didn't know that," Lani whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Eh. Could've told you."

"No, I'm sorry because I was kind of bitter about it? And I never actually talked to you about it like a mature person and stuff… That was a mistake, and I'm so sorry…"

"You were bitter?" Hunk said, voice tinged with confusion.

"I was jealous. That you left to go to the Garrison. I wanted to leave home so badly, and you did it before me even though you kept saying you never wanted to." Lani admitted. "I thought that's why you never told me you applied to the Garrison."

"I never applied," Hunk said softly. "They recruited me. I took the offer because I wasn't sure I'd ever get a deal like the one they had again, when it came time for college. So I took it."

Lani wasn't sure if she could feel any worse emotionally that day, but the universe sure was trying hard.

"Hokulani," Hunk whispered. "I'm sorry…"

"Pika, you shouldn't be apologizing." Lani said, gently rubbing her fingers in circles against Hunk's lower back. "This has been all my fault…"

"Not… What I… Sorry…" Hunk mumbled as his eyes closed again.

"No," Lani whispered, her own eyes widening. She looked up at Shinji. "How much longer?"

"Just a minute, I'm sorry, this stuff is more durable than I thought…" Shinji said, grimacing.

"Come on, Pika," Lani said. "You need to open your eyes now. Come on, stay awake, I know you can…"

But he didn't. Her heart was in her throat and her eyes burned with tears.

"Pika, please!" She begged, the tears spilling. "Wake up!"

"Hunk, please awaken!" Shay begged, moving one hand over Hunk's heart.

"Hunk!" Coran said, dropping to his knees beside Lani. "Come on, my boy, this isn't good for you even though it feels like it should be…"

Suddenly, they watched as Hunk's eyes did open, with a flash of gold going across his eyes as they opened.

To Lani, Shay and Shinji's utter surprise, a low, purring grumble came out of Hunk's mouth as he rested his chin on Lani's shoulder, eyes vacant.

"Ah," Coran said, voice not reflecting any surprise, painfully calm. "It's good to see you, Yellow Lion."

The purring sound continued.

Coran looked up at Shinji.

"Let's finish this up, shall we?" Coran said, opening up the medical kit he had brought with him. Shinji nodded and went back to cutting the metal.

"Yellow?" Lani whispered. She looked at Coran, who was working to get the armor off of Hunk's arms. "How long can Yellow do this?"

"I don't know," Coran said. "So there is not a moment to waste."

There was the clang of metal hitting the dirt and Shinji grinned triumphantly. Shay brushed her hands off on her tunic and turned to Coran.

"How can we assist now?" She asked.

"We need to get the undersuit off enough so that I can get some fluids going," Coran said. He handed a knife up to Shinji. "Cut around where the metal is, and try to get it away from the injury as fast as possible or else the fabric will repair itself and make your job harder."

Shay and Shinji got to work quickly, carefully peeling the undersuit off Hunk to his waist. As soon as one arm was free, Coran started searching for a vein, Yellow watching him the entire time, making small inquisitive noises.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing," Coran said as he inserted an IV needle. "Giving him fluids and starting him on blood-thickeners and painkillers and some heavy-duty antibiotics. Get them flowing through your Paladin's system before we get him back to the Castle and into a pod."

Lani looked up to see Allura and the other Paladins arrive. Tali immediately went and intercepted Keith and explained the plan, while the rest came towards them.

"Hunk, how are you feeling?" Shiro asked, crouching down beside Hunk.

"Unfortunately, Shiro, you are currently asking the wrong sentient being that question," Coran said as he squinted in the low light to double-check a dosage in a syringe before administering it. "It is the Yellow Lion to whom you are speaking."

"Are you serious?" Lance said, eyes wide.

"Yes, and impeccable timing you all have going on," Coran said. "Let's get our patient back to the Castle, shall we?"


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

"Alright," Shiro said, double-checking his grip around the piece of metal, bracing his other hand against Hunk's back where he lay on his side on the exam table in the Castle's medical bay. "Everyone ready?"

"Affirmative, Number One." Coran said, gauze and clean cloths already in his hands. Lani, Shinji, Shay and Lance all nodded, their hands full of similar materials.

"Yes." Allura said from the med-pod controls, prepared to configure and reconfigure the settings as need be.

"Ready as I'm ever going to be." Pidge said, swallowing as they fixed their eyes on the screen, their task being to watch as Shiro pulled the metal out and stop the process if there was a problem.

"Alright," Shiro said again, taking a deep breath. "Yellow? You hanging in there?"

A half-purr, half-hum was the response.

"I'm going to start tugging on this now," Shiro said. And so he did, slowly, steadily, carefully. He tried not to think about how much blood was coating the metal, making it easier to withdraw.

"So far so good," Pidge reported in.

Shiro paused anyway, letting Coran take a moment to press the clean cloths to the injury, trying to staunch the bleeding there. After a few ticks, he moved, letting Shiro resume his task.

Nearly half an hour later, they were all surrounded by bloody cloths and gauze, and though they temporarily paused to reassess when the end of the metal came close to Hunk's ribs, everyone let out a sigh of relief when the last of the metal came out, Coran, Lance and Lani all coming together to press cloths to the wound as soon as they could.

"We don't have time to change him into a healing pod suit, nor do we want to let up this pressure to do so," Coran said, glancing over his shoulders. "Shinji, blue cabinet, third drawer down, bring the contents over here."

Shinji did what he was told and Coran told Shay to take his place while Shiro held Hunk up, the boy's eyes still vacant and he was still purring on occasion. Which, frankly, would be more adorable in other circumstances. To everyone's surprise, Yellow hadn't made any noises of discomfort or pain out of Hunk's mouth the entire process, only some curious noises when Pidge told Shiro to stop and a very pleased, very relieved noise when the metal came out at last.

Coran quickly wrapped the bandage-like objects around Hunk's chest, then helped Shiro move him to the medpod.

"You've done a great job, Yellow," Shiro said, reaching up to untie Hunk's headband. "Before, during the battle, and after. Now both you and Hunk need to rest, okay?"

Hunk—no, the Yellow Lion—nodded once and closed their eyes as the glass materialized over the pod.

Everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

"How long will he be in there?" Lance asked Allura.

"A full diurnal cycle." Allura answered. "And then a Spicolian movement of rest at the very least, to make up for the intense blood loss."

"A Spiocli—You know what, never mind." Shinji said.

"Is there anything we can do for Hunk now?" Shay asked.

Allura gave a small, tired smile and said,

"I am almost certain that the first thing Hunk will enquire about is about the Queen Mother and her baby. Perhaps we should make sure we have positive answers to give."

"I'll go see how Keith and Tali are doing," Pidge said, grabbing their helmet, heading for the door.

"I'm right behind you," Shiro called, his eyes on Lani as she stood in front of the pod, a tear running down her cheek, fingertips pressed to the glass.

Lani blinked and turned when she felt something near the base of her ponytail. She frowned at seeing Shiro there, wondering why he had tugged on her hair, but then she realized he hadn't when she caught sight of something orange resting against her shoulder.

"You and I both know how much this means to Hunk," Shiro said as she gently picked up the end of the orange fabric. "Can you keep it safe for him?"

She nodded, not looking at Shiro.

"Yeah," She whispered. "I can do that."

Shiro gave her other shoulder a small pat and said,

"You did really well today. I know it was all rough, but you did well."

He turned and looked at Shay and Shinji, Lance, Allura and Coran.

"You all did really well today." He said.

"Well, the day's not over yet." Lance said, giving Shiro a small smile. "And we've still got stuff to do."

Shiro nodded.

"Then let's get to it." He said, grabbing his own helmet and he, Lance and Coran left the med bay.

Lani's eyes widened as she saw how dirty her hands were, how much grime covered the white portion of her own suit where it covered the heels of her hands. She dropped the fabric out of her hand and—trembling—went over to the nearby sink.

She watched as dirt and grime and blood—oh, God, that was blood, that was all her best friend's blood on her hands—ran off her skin, turning the water and white porcelain brown, black and red.

Still shaking, she fumbled for the nearby bar of soap, scrubbing at her hands.

She didn't know how long she stood there doing that, just knew she couldn't shake the feeling that her hands would never be clean again when she heard,

"Lani?"

She tensed but didn't look up at Shay, just quickly swiped her arm across her face to wipe away the tears, sniffling. When had she started crying?

"Are you alright?" Shay asked, looking very concerned.

Lani gave a short, dry laugh.

"I now understand Lady MacBeth. 'Out, out damn spot! Out I say!'" She said, realizing she sounded crazy but didn't care.

"Lani," Shay said gently, turning off the water, carefully extracting the bar of soap out of Lani's fingers, replacing it with a towel. "Are you alright?"

Lani stood there, shaking, wringing the towel in her hands.

Then the towel dropped and she lurched forward, gripping the sides of the sink as she threw up.

"Princess!" Shay called over her shoulder with alarm, and Allura was instantly beside them.

"What happened?" Allura asked. "Lani, are you alright?"

"No," She croaked, her mouth tasting bitter. "No, I'm not… I'm so stupid."

"What are you talking about? Of course you are not stupid." Allura said. "Come, sit down, let's get some fluids in you…"

Still trembling, Lani allowed herself to be led closer to the med pod, and to sit on the floor, and half expected Allura to pull out a needle like Coran had done an hour—had it only been an hour?—earlier with Hunk. Instead, Allura pulled out three pouches of water, giving one to Lani and one to Shay and kept one for herself. The three girls sat on the floor, silently sipping the water.

Lani finished hers and set the empty pouch on the floor, then pulled her knees to her chest and put her head in her hands.

"I'm so stupid…" She whispered.

"Why do you keep insisting that?" Shay asked.

"Because I didn't know what I was getting into, even though I should have…" Lani said, sucking in air quickly, trying not to start crying again. "I… I just wanted to blog all this. To be part of something cool and amazing and important. And… And I didn't realize… I didn't sign up to be a blogger. I signed up to be a war reporter. Battles, yes. But casualties… I didn't think about casualties… I'm so stupid…"

"You are not." Shay said, scooting closer to Lani, putting an arm around her.

Allura reached out and put a hand on Lani's knee.

"Everything is going to be alright. Hunk is going to be alright. We are going to make sure that the Balmera and her baby are alright." She said in an assuring manner. "But, I understand. I understand why you feel the way you do. Even being at my father's side during those last few years before Altea fell, I never truly understood what war was until it was too late. I was young and I believed that Voltron could solve all the problems of the universe. And Voltron does solve a lot of problems. But not all of them. The Paladins went through something similar when they began this journey, and even with the risks they each chose to continue the journey. Please, Lani, do not end yours so soon."

"I'm not going to," Lani said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand as she looked up. "I can't. Not now. Not after everything I've experienced today. You're right, Voltron does solve problems. Voltron is trying to make the universe a safe place for everyone to live in. It's going to take a war to get there, but I still want to be there. Because I have always wanted to be a journalist, and journalists watch history be made no matter what it looks like. If I'm not a part of it, the least I can do is record it. That is my job, I'm starting to realize."

"I am glad to hear that." Allura said, shoulders relaxing, moving over so that she and Shay could both hug Lani.

They stayed there, on the floor, watching Hunk heal, for a very long time.

Three hours later, everyone had gathered in the infirmary with tons of pillows and blankets to sleep in front of the pods. There was very little talking, and everyone ended up forcing themselves to eat before falling asleep, everyone exhausted from the physical, mental, and emotional energy spent on the day.

They were awoken too early in the morning by something squeaking in their ear and opened their eyes to see Plachu tugging on their earlobe while chittering. They sat up to see that the mice were waking up the others. Beside them, Lance sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes, his hair sticking up weird.

"What's goin' on?" He asked through a yawn.

However, a beeping answered that question, and the four Paladins, Allura and Coran were instantly a little more awake, pushing aside blankets and pillows.

"Is something wrong?" Lani asked, scrambling to her feet.

"No," Allura assured her quickly, rushing to the healing pod controls. She smiled. "Hunk will be coming out of the healing pod in a matter of moments."

The glass dissolved within a minute, and Hunk groggily fell against Shiro, looking up at the older teen a bit blankly.

"Morning, buddy." Shiro said, giving Hunk a smile. "How you feeling?"

"Mushy." Was the sleep-drunk response.

"Oh yeah?" Shiro said as he and Lance half-led, half-carried Hunk to the exam table, where he toppled over on to his side—fortunately not the formerly-injured side.

"Brain mushy." Hunk mumbled, eyes slipping shut again.

"You just got out of the healing pod, dude." Lance said, gently petting Hunk's hair. "So, brain mushiness is temporary."

Hunk didn't respond, as he was already asleep again.

"Is this typical after exiting a healing pod?" Shay asked.

"Hmm, yes and no. Drowsiness and weakness is common, but not to this extent. But losing as much blood as Hunk did is going to affect how long it takes for those symptoms to alleviate." Coran said, working on unwrapping the bandages wrapped around Hunk's chest to examine the injury site, where only a new, healing pink scar remained. After a moment of visual examination, he nodded and said, "Right, so, wound's all healed up on the outside. Now we just have to check on the inside. Allura, pass me that scanner if you please."

Allura did so and a moment later, Coran reported that the internal damage—the muscles, the bones, arteries, everything—was healed up.

"The blood loss can't be fixed as easily." Coran said. He gently gave Hunk a pat on the arm, evoking a snore from the teen. "In the meantime, Hunk will require quite a bit of rest, good food, and a little bit of medicine in order to be as healthy as a jaggercross again."

Everyone was relieved to hear that.

"I'm going to start up those IV fluids again. The more that goes into him, the better." Coran said, stepping over to the medical supplies. "When that first bag is finished, we'll see about moving Hunk to his own quarters. I imagine he'll be more comfortable there."

"I'll go fix up a bottle of Gatorade or something with electrolytes and that sort of thing." Pidge offered. "Try to get Hunk to drink some."

"Good thinking, Number Five." Coran said.

"Hunk's favorite flavor is orange," Lani informed Pidge, slipping her hand into Hunk's. Pidge gave her a thumbs-up and left for the kitchen.

They stood at the counter mixing the orange powder into a bottle of water when they noticed that someone was lingering in the doorway.

Pidge turned to see that it was Shinji.

"You okay?" They asked. It was then that they realized that Shinji was glaring at them. "What's wrong?"

"You lied." Shinji said in an accusatory manner.

"What are you talking about?" Pidge asked, brow furrowing.

"That these missions of yours are safe, with the exception of a 'few battle wounds'." Shinji said. "Well, three for three says that they're not, and if this is what you classify as a 'few battle wounds' I don't want to see a person you describe as 'grievously injured'."

"You're upset because Hunk got hurt?" Pidge said, even more confused.

"No, I'm upset because Hunk got hurt yesterday, and Takashi got hurt a few weeks ago on a totally different mission, and the one before today, Coran wasn't even on that mission and he still got knocked out." Shinji said.

"It's not like I can control all that!" Pidge exclaimed. "You may not have noticed, but we're fighting a war here!"

"Then if Voltron is so great, why hasn't it ended this war already?" Shinji asked angrily.

"That's not how this works!" Pidge shouted, waving their arms.

"Then how does it work, Pidge?" Shinji demanded sharply. "You claim to be a person of science, and yet you let your life get dictated by aliens and magic and just complete and utter nonsense! This isn't supposed to be real!"

"Yeah, well, newsflash, it is real! So get over it and accept it!" Pidge yelled.

Shinji let out a short, dry laugh.

"We've come full circle, it seems." He said. Then he turned and stalked away, leaving a very angry Pidge behind.

"He's absolutely insufferable!" Pidge declared as they paced back in forth in front of Hunk's bunk, where Hunk sat on the edge of the bed with Lance behind him, giving him a shoulder massage, both boys watching the Green Paladin as they vented. Pidge had been stewing for hours, which both the Yellow and Blue Paladins had noticed and goaded them until they started ranting and explaining what happened with Shinji.

"Every time I think I'm making progress with him, maybe he's not as big of a jerk as I thought, he does something like this! Why? Why can't he be a decent human being for once in his life and just lay off me? Or even, I don't care if he likes me, just that he stops being an utter quiznaking—"

"Pidge, chill out, okay?" Lance said.

"Yeah, man, just leave Shinji alone." Hunk said in agreement. "You shouldn't try so hard if he just keeps doing this."

"But I want to get along with him at least! We're stuck on this ship together, and he's Shiro's brother, and I made a big deal about it with you guys and why can't he just make it easier?" Pidge asked, flopping down onto the floor with a huff.

"Oh, Pidgey." Lance said. "Look, you're not wrong for all of your reasons for trying to get along with him. And, you're right, he could try to make that easier. But you've got to let people do that on their own terms, in their own time."

"Exactly." Hunk said with a nod. "I mean, look at Keith and Lance."

"Ugh, bad comparison. I don't want to date Shinji. Ever." Pidge said, resting their chin on their fist, lip curling slightly.

"Is there maybe something else that is bugging you about this?" Hunk suggested.

"Him," Pidge said flatly. "Just him. He's cold and distant and doesn't want to interact with anyone or be part of an actual team and he's so stuck-up about what he knows and—" Pidge suddenly sat up straighter, eyes both widening and watering. "Oh… Oh…."

"What's wrong?" Lance asked with a frown as Pidge stood up.

"I was like that… I was just like Shinji…" Pidge said, tears starting to roll down their cheeks. "To you two. At the Garrison…"

"No, no you weren't…" Lance said, immediately scrambling out from behind Hunk to sit beside him.

"Yes, I was!" Pidge said, stomping their foot.

"Okay, maybe you were a little, but it's okay, we're all okay," Hunk assured them. "We know why you were like that and so it's all okay."

"No, it's not okay!" Pidge said, tears streaming down their face now, flinging their arms around Hunk and Lance's necks unexpectedly. "I was… I was so _mean_ to you! Both of you! And you're two of the nicest people in this whole quiznaking universe and you were just trying to be my friend and I was mean and I never said sorry and since then you've both nearly _died_ and protected me and stuff and I never said sorry and—"

Whatever they were going to say next was cut off by a wail and sobs as Lance and Hunk exchanged a horrified look before trying to comfort Pidge.

"Pidge, don't cry, it really is okay," Lance assured them, gently patting the back of their head as Hunk gave them a huge hug.

"I am a horrible person!" Pidge wailed.

"No, you're not! Don't say that!" Hunk said, squeezing them tightly.

"Hey guys, I brought some—" Keith said as he opened the door, arms laden with snack packets, but he froze upon seeing Hunk and Lance trying to quell the sobs coming from Pidge. Immediately, the snacks were on the floor and a knife was in Keith's hand, making Lance and Hunk's eyes widen.

"HOLY QUIZNAK, KEITH, PUT DOWN THE KNIFE!" Hunk yelled at the same time Lance yelled, "PUT THAT THING AWAY BEFORE YOU STAB SOMEONE, STABBY MCSTABBER!"

Keith only narrowed his eyes as he growled, "Who do I need to kill?"

"Me! I don't deserve to live!" Pidge cried out before they resumed sobbing against their friends.

Keith lowered the knife and took a step back towards the door, the anger in his face quickly turning to confusion and a bit of fear.

"I'm, uh, I'm going to get Shiro. Or Allura. Maybe Coran. Anyone who can make this stop…" He said, then turned and ran out the door.

"TRAITOR!" Lance yelled behind him. Then he looked down at the mess of sniffling Pidge that was half in his lap, half in Hunk's, sighed, then said, "Pidge, how can we convince you we're all cool, little buddy?"

Pidge was too busy trying to stop crying to answer. Hunk gently ran his hand over their hair.

"Look at me, Pidge," He said, and Pidge looked up with watery eyes. "If Lance or I were in your boots at the Garrison, we probably would have acted the same way. You were just trying to protect yourself, and find out where your dad and brother and Shiro were. You had a mission and you took it seriously, and you didn't want any distractions. We get that. And it's okay. We try to do the same when we're on Voltron missions. Well, some of us do…"

"Hey!" Lance said, giving Hunk a betrayed look, but then gently rubbed Pidge's lower back. "But he's right. We know how much you love your family, and we know how much you've come to care for us now. We weren't very good at the whole team thing before, but look at us now! Next time we go to Earth, we should totally do another Garrison simulator to prove how far we've come. Plus it might give Iverson an aneurism."

Pidge sniffled and squeezed them both into a hug again.

"You two really are the best," They whispered. "Thank you for sticking with me even when anyone else would have given up."

"What we're here for, Pidgey." Lance promised.

"And don't you forget it." Hunk added.

By the time a very confused Shiro and Allura arrived, Pidge was only hiccupping slightly and there was a much safer group-hug happening.

"So, I kind of came in on the tail end of Keith freaking out because Pidge was in here crying." Lani said as she curled up on the foot of Hunk's bed, studying him as he ate, her hair still damp from her shower. "What exactly happened?"

"They were just a little upset over something that happened a while back, but it's all good. They're okay, they just needed to cry it out a little and get some reassurance." Hunk assured her. He paused, gently bouncing his spoon against the edge of the bowl. "What about you? You okay?"

Lani laughed.

"You're the one who got out the healing pod this morning after being shish-kabobed by a bunch of literal Galra garbage, and you're asking me if I'm okay?" She asked.

"Well, yeah." Hunk said, shrugging slightly.

Lani sighed, still smiling some.

"Yeah. I'm okay. I think I got a couple years scared off my life, but I'm okay. Thanks." She said. She looked down at the chipped pink paint on her toes, then said, "How much do you remember?"

"A lot of its fuzzy. Healing pod does that sometimes." Hunk said. "Why?"

"Well… Do you remember the Yellow Lion kind of… taking over?" Lani asked. Hunk frowned then said,

"Oh, that explains a lot."

"It does?" Lani asked, looking up, brow furrowed.

"Yeah. Had this weird dream… I was standing on a cliff, or mountain, I'm not really sure which… Because on one side there was all these hills and valleys and stuff, but on the other side it looked like cliffs and canyons with sand and rocks, like where we found Blue. Everything was in these shades of yellows and oranges, though. Made everything look a bit grainy." Hunk said. "I should ask Coran and Allura about that. Or Yellow."

Lani nodded, then tugged at the orange band of fabric around her wrist, unwinding it slowly.

He likely didn't remember the conversation they had… She wanted to tell him so badly how she felt, but right now… That was a lot of emotional energy to spend, and she hadn't quite recovered that spent energy from the day before.

Besides. Now she knew that the Yellow Lion would do anything to protect him.

It could wait another day.

"Shiro gave this to me when he and Coran put you in the healing pod," She said. "For safe keeping."

She finished unwrapping the band from around her wrist, and held it up for Hunk to see.

"Want me to put it on you?" She asked.

Hunk nodded and she got up, walking forward so that she could sit directly beside him. Hunk lowered his head for her to carefully wrap the band around, knotting it behind his head. She gently brushed a hand through his hair and rested her hand on his cheek as he lifted his head some, meeting her eyes. She gave him a smile then, quickly, she pressed her forehead and the tip of her nose against his, both of their eyes closing almost in synch.

"Do me a favor and don't scare me like that again, okay?" She whispered. Hunk nodded and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

She buried her face into his shoulder, trying hard not to cry.

He was okay. She was okay. Everything was going to be okay.

A few days later, the Castle was hosting a party.

Allura had made contact with the Illevians, inviting them to come to the Queen Mother Balmera to witness the birth of the new Balmera, as well as negotiate for a new crystal. The Illevians soon arrived, and the Castle was hosting many new friends, all eager to celebrate the birth.

As it got closer and closer to delivery, the more people became restless with excitement, so it was suggested that music be played and people danced to pass the time.

Lance quickly jumped at the opportunity to play DJ, begging Allura with puppy dog eyes for the official okay, which she laughed at then sent him off.

"Make sure it's all clean, Lance!" Shiro called after the excited Blue Paladin, who gave Shiro a thumbs-up.

"How can music be unclean?" Rax asked. "What makes it dirty?"

"It's complicated." Hunk said. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure it's just a human thing."

"But why make music that is dirty?" Shay pressed.

"Some people like that, I guess." Tali said with a shrug as the first song started to play. Tali immediately grinned and said, "Ooh, I love this song! Haven't heard this one since the last Garrison Winter Formal…"

"I remember," Shiro said, smiling slightly. "You made me and Matt dance with you and you said that we both danced horribly."

"Yeah, you did." Tali said. "But I'd love to do it again." She turned to Pidge. "Hey, Pidge, want to fill the position of 'Holt' with me and Shiro, dancing to this song?"

Pidge gave a small, tight and forced smile.

"Oh, no. That's okay. You two… You two go on and dance." They said. "I'm going to, uh, get another one of those Illevian cubes that tastes like blueberries…"

With that, they pulled away from the group, Keith frowning and running after them.

"Pidge!" He called, making Pidge stop and turn to face him. He frowned as he caught something in their facial expression, but couldn't tell what. "Pidge, you know you just threw away a chance to dance with Shiro, right?"

"Keith…" Pidge whispered. Then, to his surprise, they reached up and swiped at their eyes with the back of their hand, hissing slightly as in their haste, they whacked themself in the face with the arm piece of their armor. "You were wrong."

"About what?" Keith asked.

"Shiro. Liking me… I heard him and Tali the other night… They like each other… Tali confirmed it…" Pidge said, looking and sounding like they were trying not to cry. "Look, thanks for trying, but it… it wasn't meant to be… It's just a stupid crush."

They then turned and ran towards the food table, leaving Keith wondering what he had missed, but so certain that he wasn't wrong.

He frowned.

He was going to figure out what happened and fix it.

Meanwhile, Coran took his glass of nunvill and lingered near the wall. He didn't stay alone for long, Chief Nitweil coming up to stand beside him, watching the younger members of the party begin to dance and laugh, many of the older members grinning as they watched.

"Were you able to find anything?" Coran asked in a low voice.

"Yes and no." Chief Nitweil said. "I apologize, Coran of Altea, but I was unable to find any information about who has put a bounty out for your princess."

Coran frowned, but he also wasn't surprised.

"Then what did you find out?" Coran asked.

"That there may be a way to determine who put out the bounty." Chief Nitweil said. "Go to Durmeer. There you will find someone who has recently been asking many questions about Alteans and lost princesses and making inquiries among bounty hunters. He is not a hunter himself, but I do not believe he is the one who set the bounty either. But I believe he knows something, because he appeared when the bounty did. You can find him at Mensil's Tavern. I advise going in disguise."

"Understood." Coran said with a nod. "Thank you, Chief."

Chief Nitweil hesitated, then said,

"I… I did some searching of my own. Regarding the Princess's mother."

Coran scowled and looked at the Chief out of the corner of his eye.

"Did you now?" He said, voice tight.

She nodded.

"I had heard rumors that something had happened between the Galra Empire and the Alteans to cause the war… But I never imagined…" She studied Coran. "You knew her well, did you not?"

"Nova and I were friends, yes. Very dear friends." Coran admitted.

"And you were… present?"

Coran closed his eyes.

"Alfor and I arrived with the former Red Paladin to be with her as she… passed." Coran said.

"I am so sorry." Chief Nitweil said. "By all accounts, she was a magnificent diplomat, warrior, leader, wife, and mother. Altea must have felt the loss greatly."

"Altea did feel that loss, but not as greatly as the husband and daughter she left behind." Coran said, voice tight as he watched Allura, who was laughing as she and Lance danced together. "Allura was so small at the time… She's still so young now. I worry for her."

"All younglings cause their elders to worry, Coran of Altea. My daughters and grandchildren have caused me grief on many occasions." Chief Nitweil said with a smile. "It is simply a fact of life."

"That may be so, but after all she's been through…" Coran sighed and looked down at his glass. "Her father went to great lengths to protect her. I've already seen her captured once, in danger more times than I can count. I'm no stripling, I won't be always able to protect her."

"She has her Paladins." Chief Nitweil reminded him. "I have been watching them. They all genuinely care for each other, the Paladins of Voltron and the Princess of Altea."

"That may be so, but protecting her is not their job. It is mine alone." Coran said. He took a deep breath, then quickly drained his glass of nunvill. "And I am going to do a better job of protecting her than I did protecting Nova."

Chief Nitweil said nothing more, just turned her focus back to the dancing, which quickly parted when Lani, Hunk, Shay and a few young Balmera came running up, announcing that it was time.

So many lives had been brought into this universe, and there had been nearly as many deaths that had occurred that brought them to this moment, she realized.

Fate, destiny, life.

It continued to go on, especially when you thought it shouldn't, that it couldn't.

It was an odd thing.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty:

"Durmeer?" Allura questioned as they left Shay and Rax's Balmera. "Coran, are you sure?"

"Very sure," Coran said. "A very reliable source has led me to believe that we'll find some more information about who has put out a bounty for you, Princess, and why."

"I feel like this may be trivial in the grand scheme of things," Allura said, tapping her fingertips against her console.

"All it takes is one betrayal from someone pretending to be our ally in order to get a cut of this bounty to greatly impact the whole war." Shiro pointed out, frowning. "I agree with Coran; the sooner we address the problem, the better off—and the safer—we all are."

"Alright, so, Durmeer, what exactly are we looking at?" Lance asked.

"Durmeer is a small, sparsely populated moon that acts as a universal waypoint and watering hole." Coran said. "There are quite a few mechanics here, as well as fueling stations, food sellers and various other establishments such as hotels and markets. Many, many dining establishments."

"Okay, so, it's a space truck stop." Pidge said. "Cool."

"Space truck stop means we can load up on space road trip snacks, right?" Hunk said. "I want to know what the space version of Cheetos are like."

"I've been wondering what the space candy selection is." Tali said.

"I bet space slushies would be cool!" Pidge said, grinning. "I'm imagining them coming in neon colors with enough sugar in them to choke a unicorn."

"I'm more interested in the space roadside diners with space pancakes," Lance said.

"Ooh, what's the space version of McDonald's?" Lani asked. "Please tell me there's a space version of McDonald's. But I feel like if there is one it is kind of Galra themed?"

"Well, it'd be a corporation, so it would probably have some connection to the empire…" Pidge said.

"Guys, can we focus?" Shiro said, arms folded over his chest. "Besides, I don't think I need to remind anyone that the last time we wanted to see if space versions of earth snacks matched up, it didn't go well."

"Ooh, the Space Potato Chip Incident…." Hunk said.

"Never forget!" Lance said, dramatically staring forward while putting his hand over his heart.

"You mentioned a tavern?" Keith said, studying the real-time images of the moon Coran had displayed. There were lots of streets displayed with strolling beings, mostly laden with shopping bags or luggage. "Where is it?"

Coran spun the hologram and zeroed in on the tavern.

"Oh." Was the general reaction to the images that Coran displayed.

"Well, um, it looks… Quaint…" Allura said politely.

"It has, er, rustic chic?" Lani suggested.

"I'm sure the atmosphere is… uh, it matches that of the rest of the moon?" Hunk said, reaching up to scratch behind his ear nervously.

"Is that guy in the alleyway passed out drunk or dead?" Lance asked.

This was clearly the seedier side of the planet.

And Shiro did not like that.

"Coran, this looks shady as quiznak." Shiro said.

"It is exactly that, both figuratively and literally, as due to the tilt there is permanent low light here." Coran said. "So we need to approach this operation carefully."

"Well, it would certainly look suspicious to walk in talking about a bounty on an Altean Princess while wearing Altean armor." Hunk pointed out.

"You're not walking in there, Hunk," Shiro said. "Coran said you need a full week of rest, and it's only been five days."

"It's not like we're doing this today or necessarily tomorrow." Hunk said. "If we wait until the day after tomorrow, we're thoroughly prepared and it's been a week."

"Shiro's right, though," Tali said. "Magic pods or no, you don't just bounce back into action after losing that much blood."

"Maybe not, but I think I've got an idea that will work for everyone." Lance said, clapping his hand on Hunk's shoulder before stepping forward and pointing to an area on the map, across from the tavern. "Coran, can we get an aerial and ground view on this building?"

Coran provided the requested images and Lance studied them for a moment, hands in his pockets. Then, he nodded.

"I'll need to see it in person, but this roof looks great for a sniper's nest." Lance said, pointing to a building across from the tavern.

"And have Hunk go with you?" Shiro asked. Lance nodded. Shiro visibly relaxed and said, "Good call. Neither of your weapons are going to be good if there's a bar fight anyway."

"How about we avoid that," Allura said. "But Hunk is also correct. We cannot go in armor. We will need disguises."

"I'll arrange them, been looking for an excuse to raid the old costume wing." Coran said. "Princess, just tell me what you'll need for yours."

Allura nodded.

"How long until we get there?" Shiro asked.

"Not too much longer now," Coran said.

"Alright then. Lance, Pidge, Keith, when we get there I want you three to come with me to do recon and a security sweep of the area. Hunk, you help Coran and Allura however you can here."

The Paladins nodded and dispersed to prepare for their tasks.

"Ooh, I think Pidge would look great in this." Lani said, holding up a pair of pants and a shirt.

"Add in these and its perfect." Hunk said, tossing a pair of goggles at Lani.

"Oh, man, can I wear this?" Tali asked Coran, holding up a red crop-top with sheer red fabric over it.

"You may keep it if you wish, but I do not recommend it if you are planning on going on this assignment." Coran said.

"Wait, we can go too!" Lani asked excitedly, looking at Hunk for confirmation. He grinned.

"Don't see why not. You two and Shinji were awesome on our last mission." He said. "And the more eyes and ears the better, right?"

"Alright, so, what's good undercover mission gear?" Lani said out loud, already restarting her search through the clothes.

"Hey, Hunk, Coran," Tali said as she held up a black shirt against herself. "Aren't snipers usually known for being, well, alone when they do their sniping?"

"Yeah, usually." Hunk said as he looked at a pair of boots. "Why?"

"Just… Well, if Lance is going to make a snipers nest, doesn't bringing someone with him defeat the purpose of having a nest?" Tali asked.

Hunk and Coran exchanged an almost dark look with each other.

"In the field, we have a lot of rules to keep ourselves and each other safe," Hunk said. "And in the top ten is that Lance always has someone with him when he snipes."

"Okay… Why is that a rule?" Lani asked.

"These rules are not just procedures and protocol." Coran said. "They almost always have a story behind them. And, typically, a very close call."

"Lance used to be able to go sniping by himself. Got into a sniper battle once and freaked us all out because he started taking off his armor—in the field, one handed, no back-up, his comms cut off—so that the other sniper couldn't find him from the white parts of the armor." Hunk said. "It was really scary, because without the armor, he was pretty defenseless."

"And since he had taken the armor off, we had no clue where he was without the main sensors. He won, but just barely. When he got back he basically slept for a whole day." Coran said.

"So that's why there's the rule? In case Lance gets into another sniper battle?" Tali asked.

"No, but it greatly contributed to the reasoning behind the rule." Coran said.

"See, when Lance is sniping, he goes into hyper-focus." Hunk explained. "Every time. Obviously not intentionally, but it happens. But when Lance goes into hyper-focus, his brain doesn't let him think about anything else or notice anything else. He kind of just shuts out the surrounding world. Like, you could scream in his ear and he might not even blink."

"A couple of Galra soldiers discovered this during a battle." Coran picked up. "They found Lance's nest and knocked him out. We were very fortunate that Hunk and the others were able to rescue Lance before the Galra got too far with him. Poor boy was out of sorts when finally woke up. Had no memory of what had happened, obviously. He said he heard nothing from behind him, and obviously saw nothing."

"Geez." Lani said, shuddering slightly.

"It was terrifying, and obviously we're trying to keep it from happening again." Hunk said.

"Hence the rule." Tali said.

"Hence the rule." Hunk said in agreement.

"What are other rules?" Lani asked. "For future reference."

"Send Keith and Hunk off alone together as infrequently as possible." Coran said.

"Oh, come on, Coran, we're not that bad together." Hunk said.

"The last time you two were partnered together, Keith's hair was on fire and your left hand was in the mouth of a Gorber fish." Coran said. "You were both underwater."

"That doesn't count." Hunk said.

"We put it to a vote. It counts. Especially since the time before that we had to conduct a rescue mission to extract you two from the cult you accidentally joined." Allura said, entering the room. She clasped her hands in front of her and said, "I have decided what form I shall take for this mission."

"Form?" Lani repeated.

"Oh yeah, you haven't seen the shape-shifting yet." Hunk said.

"Shape shifting!" Tali said, eyes widening.

Before their eyes, Allura's skin began to change color, turning a burnt orange with dark brown markings similar to a cheetah's on her arms, but her face remaining clear. She also grew an inch and her posture changed so that it seemed as if she was standing more on the balls of her feet. Her eyes and hair stayed the same color.

"Ah, a Feelan." Coran said, nodding. "Good choice. Excellent, I happen to have just the thing for a traditional Feelan head-covering for your hair."

Coran found the dark brown patterned cloth and held it up for Allura to see.

"It is perfect!" Allura said. "I will wear my hair in a bun underneath."

"I'll track down some extra pins to keep it in place," Coran said. He pointed to a pile of clothes and said, "There should be some other Feelan clothing in there that should pair nicely, but I think Ryla was the last one who wore them, and she was a good deal shorter than you, Princess. Fortunately, they were all hemmed, so if you'll pick out what you want I'll un-hem them."

Allura nodded and joined Hunk, Lani and Tali on the floor to sort through the clothes.

"So, Allura, what should we call you during the mission?" Hunk asked.

"What do you mean?" Allura asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, we can't just call you Allura, AKA the exact same name as the princess whose bounty we're trying to get information on." Hunk pointed out.

"Oh, that is true…" Allura said. She frowned. "What do you suggest?"

"Leia." Hunk said.

"Oh, that's perfect!" Tali said.

"Oh, is that not the Princess from that Star Wars movie? Yes, I like her." Allura said, smiling.

She felt a distinct connection to the young princess who took charge of her own rescue. The last of her people, but also with so much responsibility… And she'd like to think they had the same amount of spark and sass.

She only hoped that the fictional princess would not mind Allura borrowing her name.

"Lance, Hunk, are you in position?" Shiro asked into the earpiece.

"We're ready. Got an eye on the place. It's not too packed yet." Lance reported.

"Perfect, we'll be there in a few ticks." Shiro said. He turned to look at Shinji, who was currently sitting in the Black Paladin's chair on the bridge, focused on the book that was on his knees. "You going to be okay on your own for a while?"

"I'm starting to see why the others call you Space Dad." Shinji said. "Yes, I'll be fine. Someone's got to look after the Castle. Just try to have everyone come back in one piece for once."

"Will do." Shiro said before heading down to the launch bay, where the rest of the team was waiting, disguises on.

"It's weird to see your hair a different color other than black or white," Tali commented, reaching up to flick Shiro's dyed forelock as he got on board the small ship.

"It's only temporary, it'll wash out when I get a shower," Shiro reminded her, reaching up to smooth the dyed yellow hair back into place. When the suggestion was made to temporary dye the white hair, Shiro somehow let himself get convinced to not do black. Instead, each of the other Paladins tried to sway him towards their particular color. Finally, to appease them ("like the Space Dad he is" Lance commented, earning him a smack on the back of the head courtesy of Pidge), they put each color on a piece of paper that Shiro drew randomly from a hat Coran had pulled out. Hunk was in no way, shape, or form hiding his smugness when yellow got drawn.

Shiro glanced at Pidge across from him. They seemed to be pointedly not looking at him or Tali. He resisted the urge to sigh.

Keith had come to his bedroom the night before and told him that—for some reason he couldn't figure out—Pidge had somehow gotten into their head that he was now dating Tali.

And, according to Keith, it was Shiro's job to convince them otherwise.

He just wasn't sure how.

He'd have to figure it out after this recon mission. He could figure out his personal life better when there wasn't a bounty on his commanding officer and friend's head.

The descent to the planet and the journey to the tavern was uneventful. Shiro almost wished there was a door to be opened in a sort of symbolic "no going back" gesture. But part of what made this tavern perfect for Lance having a sniper's nest was that there was no door or windows. As Lani let out a squeak as an alien was thrown out the window, Shiro could see why.

Their entrance wasn't even noticed, only a few eyes near the door turning before going back to their pale brown liquor.

"Divide and conquer?" Shiro whispered to Coran and Allura, who both nodded. Coran and Allura went to one corner where there seemed to be a table for some sort of gambling. Keith, Tali and Lani went to find a table in a strategic location. Shiro glanced down at Pidge.

"The bar?" He suggested. Pidge nodded, reaching up to adjust the cumbersome goggles on their head.

The two approached and Pidge hopped up onto a barstool while Shiro remained standing.

"Wha' dya wan'?" The bartender—a six-armed green being with an elephant-like trunk for a nose—asked with a sneer.

"We're the designated pilots of the evening, so whatever you've got that will keep us sober." Shiro said.

The bartender snorted, sending snot flying on the table towards Pidge, who quickly moved their folded arms off of the surface, looking incredibly grossed out.

"Ain't got any o' that here," He said.

"Is the water here potable?" Pidge asked.

"Yeah, it's 'potable. 'Potable from the sink to your glass." The bartender said.

"Um, never mind then." Shiro said. "Um, got any food? We'll take the house special."

The bartender nodded and then disappeared into what looked like a kitchen, returning a moment later with a plate full of something purple and wriggly.

"Thank you," Shiro forced himself to say.

"Sure I can't get ya anythin' ta drink?" The man said. "A fella gets mighty thirsty with one of these."

"Actually," Shiro said, gently nudging the plate towards Pidge, who gave the food a small poke, recoiling when the food poked back. "We were wondering if you might be able to point us in the right information of some information."

The bartender snorted again.

"Depends on what you want ta know 'bout." He said.

"Rumor has it that there's a bounty out for some princess, an Altean." Pidge said. "But we don't have a clue what one looks like or where to begin to get information on how to hunt her down."

The bartender's eyes narrowed.

"You're fools, askin' for help like that. You're not the usual types for bounty huntin'." He said.

"We're merchants who are a bit low on funds. We thought that this would be a good way to bolster them." Shiro said.

The bartender suddenly smirked.

"Oh, is tha' so?" He said. "Merchants, eh? Well, I've heard some rumors, too, and these ones say that the Champion is not a traveling merchant."

Shiro felt his blood run cold and Pidge's stool crashed to the ground as they got to their feet, bayard already in their hand.

"I think we should be going now," Shiro said calmly, taking a step backwards, one hand on Pidge's shoulder, pulling them back as well.

"Leaving so soon, Champion?"

The voice behind Shiro made him stiffen, turning to see a large alien standing there, hitting his fist into the palm of his hand. Several other just as large beings also stood there menacingly.

"The bounty on tha Altean princess is nice, yes." The bartender said. "But it is nothing compared to the one Zarkon has for the Champion. Or do you prefer Prisoner one-one-seven, nine-eight-seven-five?"

"I prefer not shedding any blood here," Shiro said, activating his arm. Which, usually was a pretty good threat.

"The blood that will be shed is yours," One of the large beings said.

"I really think you're wrong about that." Pidge said. "And I can prove it, too."

One of the large beings suddenly screamed and hit the floor, clutching his shoulder, burnt from a laser bolt. Screaming and yelling suddenly started filling the tavern as Lance released another shot from his nest, this one shattering glasses behind the bar. Many started to flee for cover. But others saw what the fuss was about, and started making their way toward Shiro.

It was mayhem.

"SEE! I TOLD YOU SO!" Pidge yelled over the noise, even as one of the beings started to make a grab for Shiro in the chaos.

Keith was instantly at Shiro and Pidge's side, his own bayard out.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here!" Keith yelled, kicking a would-be bounty hunter as he tried to surge forward. Unfortunately, this started a chain reaction: Keith kicked the bounty hunter, who tumbled into a table, which knocked it over, which knocked over the candle that was on it that set the tavern floor on fire, quickly mixing with the alcohol from spilled drinks.

Which wouldn't have been bad, except that the three Paladins heard a shriek and Coran shout: "AL—LEIA!"

The flames had cut off Coran and Allura from each other, and it was getting too dangerous to try and get past them.

"GO!" Allura yelled at Coran. "I will find another way out! I will meet you out front!"

With that, she turned, running towards the back, hoping to find an exit. She gasped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning to see a tall humanoid being with blue skin and fair hair standing there.

"This way!" He said, leading her towards the wall. He approached it, pressed something to it, then grabbed Allura, pulling her away, shielding her. She was about to ask what was happening when there was an explosion and a great shudder went through the building. The being then led her through the opening in the wall.

Then, to her surprise, he pulled her in the opposite direction of the entrance.

"Stop! Please, I need to go the other way!" Allura shouted. "My friends, they will be so worried!"

"I will take you to them, but we need to go this way!" The being said.

"Tell me why, right now!" Allura demanded, digging her heels in.

"You are with the Champion, correct? You came in with him, I saw you," The being said, stopping to look at her. "If we go right back there, one might grab you as leverage. I do not think your friend wants that. I am only going to take you to where I parked my bike, then we will wait a few ticks, and I will take you back, I promise."

Allura scowled but continued to follow. She knew by now Hunk was probably on the ground, as was Lance. The two would be protecting Lani and Tali; the others could take care of themselves. So could Allura, but she did not want to give any of those bounty hunters an opening. Especially if they learned what they really had was just as valuable as the Champion.

They got where the being had his bike parked, and Allura put her hands on her knees.

"Are you alright?" He asked, also sounding out of breath.

"Smoke inhalation and dust, followed by running." Allura said. "I need to sit for a moment."

"That sounds good." The being said. The two slumped against the wall. Allura reached up and removed her head covering, using it to dab sweat off her face, taking deep breaths.

"What the quiznak?"

She turned with wide eyes towards her… What was he? Savior? Friend? Good Samaritan, whatever that was?

Then she glanced down at her hands…

She gasped.

No… Her shift had dropped. How had her shift dropped?

"You are… Altean…" The being whispered.

Allura's eyes widened, and she scrambled for her feet.

"No! No, wait!" The being said, grabbing her wrist.

"Unhand me!" Allura yelled at him.

"No, wait, it is okay, I am not going to hurt you!" He said. His blue eyes met hers, and she watched as his blue skin changed color, turning a dark, rich brown, his hair turning a pale blue, his ears shifting from being rounded like a human's to pointed like her own.

And…

She gasped again.

There were blue markings under his eyes.

"I am Altean, too." He whispered.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One:

"And you… You are Princess Allura, are you not?" The boy—the Altean boy—said.

Allura nodded dumbly, stunned.

There was another Altean… How was there another Altean? She had thought she and Coran were the last.

The boy suddenly lowered his head into a bow.

"My name is Caelum Lyrason of House Anthiok, Your Highness." He said. "It is an honor to serve you."

"I… Thank you… How?" Allura whispered. She shook her head some, clearing her head. "Never mind. We can discuss that later. I need to get back to my friends, now."

"Of course," Caelum said, getting to his feet, holding out his hand for Allura. "I will take you to them right away, Your Highness."

"You do not need to call me that," Allura said as she accepted his hand, allowing him to help her stand.

"You are my princess. Unless technically you are now my queen and should be Your Majesty?" Caelum said, brow furrowing. "I admit, I was very young when Altea fell, so I do not know exactly where what remains of the empire stands rank-wise. Especially legendary lost princesses."

"I do not know either," Allura admitted. "I was three years from being of age when Altea fell, and I am not sure if years in the cyropod count." She gave him a sad smile. "Or if any of it really matters at all."

Caelum gave her a smile, a lot more brighter than hers.

"I can assure you, Your Highness, it matters a great deal." He said.

"Even if what you say is true, please, call me Allura."

"If that is what you wish, Allura," Caelum said. He pulled her over to his bike, pulling out a key card for it. "Alright, now let me get you back to your friends, the Paladins of Voltron, correct?"

Even as the engine began to hum, Allura heard something from behind them, footsteps. She turned, already on guard, but relaxed at seeing familiar blue and white armor.

"Lance!" She called out, waving at him.

But even through the visor on his helmet, she could see that Lance's expression was not one of relief or friendliness. It was even less so when he lifted his bayard, eyes narrowed as he aimed it at Caelum, who still held Allura's hand in his.

"Let her go. Now." Lance ordered in a tone of voice that Allura had never heard him use before. And frankly that frightened her.

"Lance, it is alright! He is a friend!" Allura said quickly.

"I promise you, Paladin, I mean no harm to the Princess." Caelum said.

"Then let. Her. Go." Lance said, making no indication of lowering his rifle.

"Lance, I command you to drop your weapon at once!" Allura demanded.

"Allura, if you want me to order me to do something, you need to be behind my bayard to do so." Lance said. "And this guy has ten ticks. Ten. Nine."

Caelum dropped Allura's hand, and she rushed over to Lance's side. It was only then that he relaxed, still not lowering his bayard, and Caelum wisely lifted both hands in the air.

"Sorry to disobey a direct order, Princess," Lance said, not looking at her. "But, honestly, I'm more afraid of what Coran would do to me if something happened to you."

Frankly, Allura could not blame him.

One of her first prominent memories was sitting between her parents' thrones, playing with dolls. Her mother sat with a book while her father stood in front of a display with Coran by his side, the two in deep discussion. She had no idea about what, but she did remember her mother saying,

"Allura, my little darling star, come here for a moment."

Allura took her favorite doll and crawled into her mother's lap, cuddling in as the two silently watched Alfor and Coran.

"I want you to know something, my dear," Queen Nova had whispered into her ear, gently stroking Allura's hair. "On Altea, your father is the most powerful man. He is one of the most powerful men in the universe. On his command, thousands of soldiers and ships move. With his blessing, dozens of treaties and trade agreements are made each day, strengthening our people. It is your father who the entire planet is devoted to.

"But, you see Uncle Coran? He is the strongest man on Altea. Perhaps the universe. It is your Uncle Coran who has the entirety of your father's trust. In turn, Coran is completely devoted to us, your father, myself, and you. Your father may command armies, but it is Coran who will tear a ship apart with his bare hands if anything were to happen to you. He does not require direction in this regard. Your uncle is the sweetest, kindest, friendliest, loyalist man I have ever met. But the best way to cross him is to try to harm any of us. Your father protects Altea, but it is Coran who protects us, little star. Do not forget that. And I pray—just as your father does—that someday you will rule with someone like Coran at your side. Do you understand me, Allura?"

"Yes, Mama," Allura said, nodding her head.

Allura had heard about what had happened between Coran and Shiro following her capture by the Galra, and knew that Shiro had gotten away lightly. She was determined to never put her Paladins through something like that again.

"Lance, I would like you to meet Caelum. Like myself and Coran, he is Altean." Allura said. "Caelum, I would like you to meet the Blue Paladin, Lance of Earth."

"It is an honor to meet you, Paladin of Voltron." Caelum said, bowing.

"He's Altean?" Lance said, lowering his bayard some. "Like, for real or is this anything like the time Coran had to call out that traveling side-show for trying to pass off a Venerbat with a cardboard horn and dyed fur for an Altean Smorevat?"

"For real." Allura clarified.

"So… Uh… What do we do with him?" Lance asked. "Leave him or…?"

"I would like to come with you." Caelum said. "If I get any say…"

"I would like you to come, if for no other reasons than I have many questions." Allura said. "Can your bike carry three? And what about your ship?"

"It can indeed carry three persons, but I do not have a ship. I hitch-hiked my way here." Caelum explained. With another sweeping bow, he gestured towards his bike. "Climb aboard, Your Highness, and I promise I will escort you back to the rest of your Paladins safely."

Allura climbed onto the bike, with Lance getting on behind her, one hand still on his bayard while his arm went around her waist. Caelum climbed on in front of Allura, looked over his shoulder, and grinned.

"Hold on," He said.

Within a few ticks, they were at the hanger bay, where the Paladins, Tali, and Lani were simultaneously on guard and anxiously watching a seething, pacing Coran.

As soon as Caelum stopped the bike, Allura hopped off and ran to Coran who pulled her into a hug.

"Are you alright?" Coran asked, releasing her from the hug to look her up and down for injury.

"I'm fine, Coran," Allura insisted, giving him a reassuring smile.

"When I heard the explosion…" Coran said. He couldn't finish his sentence and pulled her back into a hug.

"I'm fine, but we should continue this conversation back at the Castle," Allura said. Coran reluctantly released her again, nodding. Then, his eyes landed on Caelum.

"And who is this young Yupper?" He asked.

"Caelum Lyrason, of House Anthiok, sir." Caelum said, bowing once more.

"Dude you are going to break your spine doing that…" Lance said. "Let's get your bike in and get out of here. Hunk, come give us a hand here, will ya?"

Allura then turned to her other Paladins, particularly the three who had been in the tavern. The right sleeve of Keith's shirt had been either burned or torn, and he had some cuts and burns. Shiro's cybernetic arm seemed to be flickering. Pidge looked to be in the best condition with just a scrape on their cheekbone. Keith and Pidge would likely not require healing pods.

But Shiro's arm… Well, she had no idea how long that could be out of commission. Hopefully not for long.

She was relieved to see that Lani and Tali had escaped any harm, with the exception of being covered in dust and soot, and Coran's costume was the only thing that was burnt.

A short time later, they were back at the Castle, with Shinji waiting for them in the pod bay, his book tucked under his arm. He arched an eyebrow.

"I asked you to come back in one piece, not with a plus one." He commented.

"Blame the bounty hunters." Pidge said. "Not us."

"How about I go set new coordinates, and then we all settle into the lounge." Allura said.

"I'll go get the med-kit," Hunk said, heading off in one direction.

"And I'll go get my tool kit…" Pidge said, heading off in the opposite direction.

A short time later, everyone had changed into clean clothes and was sitting in the lounge, where introductions were quickly made. However, Pidge and Shiro almost immediately got into an argument because Pidge was trying to get Shiro's arm fixed while Shiro wanted them to get their cut cleaned.

"Shiro, it's fine. It's still going to be there when I figure out what the problem is." Pidge insisted.

"And my arm's still going to be busted when you finish getting that cut treated." Shiro pointed out.

"My cut is not currently a safety hazard," Pidge pointed out, now gesturing towards Shiro's arm with a screwdriver.

"Allura, please pull rank on these two," Hunk asked as he dug through the medical kit. "Otherwise they'll just keep arguing over who's turn it is to be a self-sacrificial idiot tonight."

"Pidge, let Hunk treat your cut. Lance and Lani, start cleaning Keith's injuries. Coran and Tali, will you please start taking off the plates of Shiro's arm?" Allura said. She turned to Caelum. "As for you, start talking."

"Where should I begin, Your Highness?" Caelum asked, arching a pale-blue eyebrow.

"By heeding my request to call me Allura, and with explaining how you survived the destruction of Altea." Allura said.

Caelum nodded.

"As you wish." He took a deep breath. "I honestly do not know much about the events that led to the fall of Altea. I was a very small child at the time. My mother was an ambassador to Norviel in the Pixlea System, meaning at the time, my father, mother and I were living off-planet. My grandfather arrived for a visit, and it was fortuitous that he arrived when he did. A member of the King of Norviel's staff came to my mother, saying that Altea was destroyed, and with a warning that Emperor Zarkon was seeking to kill all Alteans.

"My mother… We tried to flee to my grandfather's ship, but the Galra found us. They killed my mother and severely injured my grandfather. He managed to make it to the ship, which my father piloted after putting my grandfather in a healing pod. However, in the escape, the ship was badly damaged. We managed a wormhole jump, but it wasn't enough… The ship was going to crash and he could do nothing to stop it."

Caelum's eyes closed.

"My father… He had a plan. He put me into a healing pod alongside my grandfather. He told me that he would find the safest spot on the ship to stay in, and then he would let me and Grandfather out once the ship had crashed. When I woke up… When I woke up, thousands of years had passed, and scavengers had found me and Grandfather, awakening us on board their ship. From data gathered from the ship, my father could not have survived a massive hull breach that sucked out all the recycled air. His corpse would have either have been sucked into the vacuum of space or eroded into dust centuries before we came out of stasis."

"How awful." Allura whispered.

"So these scavengers rescued you?" Shiro asked.

"Yes. We were lucky that they took pity on us afterwards." Caelum said. "They let me and my grandfather live on board with them until we figured out a safe place to go."

"And your grandfather?" Coran asked, pausing as he set aside a plate of Shiro's arm. "Is he still alive?"

"Yes, sir." Caelum said. "He is."

"So, it is just the four of us Alteans who are still alive, then." Allura said.

Caelum smiled.

"Oh, no, Princess. I am very pleased to inform you that you are mistaken." He said. "There are many, many more Alteans, waiting for the Lost Princess to return."

"There's more Alteans?" Lance said, eyes wide as he looked over at Caelum.

"How?" Allura asked.

"By the time Grandfather and I met them, these were the second and third generation of survivors." Caelum explained. "Many of them, like myself, the children of ambassadors who were not on Altea at the time, and managed to escape. A vast majority of the settlement, I would say about ninety percent, are of noble blood, which aided in their evasion of the Galra Empire."

"Settlement?" Coran whispered.

"There are more Alteans!" Allura said excitedly. "Where is this settlement? We must go there immediately!"

"Well, hold on there, Princess, I'm jumping at the marthogol to see this settlement for my own eyes, but I think we should ask a few more questions." Coran said. "Starting with, why were you at that Tavern tonight?"

"I am one of the members of the settlement who regularly leaves for supplies and information." Caelum explained. "Over the last few months, there has been more and more rumors about the return of Voltron, as well as the Lost Princess of Altea. There had always been rumors that Princess Allura survived, but no one could ever prove it."

"There you go, Keith, you helped prove that an intergalactic conspiracy theory was the truth." Lance said as he finished wrapping a bandage around Keith's arm. "You can check that off your bucket list."

"It doesn't count because I didn't know about it at the time." Keith said. "But I've got a lot of supporting evidence for the mermaids that the American government is using to spy on the Russians. So I will still have one theory proven in my lifetime…"

"Yeah… Anyways. Lost Princess of Altea." Hunk said. "And Voltron. Lots of gossip."

"I admit, I did not take the rumors seriously until the bounty appeared." Caelum said. "I began loitering in that Tavern months ago, trying to get leads and information. My goal was to find the Lost Princess first, before bounty hunters did."

"So you must have been who we were looking for in the first place." Pidge commented as they settled into a position to work on Shiro's arm.

"Caelum, do you have any idea who could have a bounty out for Allura?" Shiro asked.

"None whatsoever, Black Paladin." Caelum said. "It is most distressing. However, I can assure you that the settlement will be a safe place. Zarkon has not found us yet."

"It is the 'yet' that we're worried about." Keith said.

"To be honest, we all are. As I said, I am one of the few who frequently leaves and goes back to the settlement for supplies. Even others with the ability to shift are afraid." Caelum said. "But, I think, with the return of the Princess, morale will definitely improve. Alteans were meant to be travelers, and yet we have some who have lived their whole lives in the settlement, and I am not just referring to the children."

"Do you think any of these settlers would want to fight Zarkon?" Shinji asked.

"That I do not know." Caelum admitted. "I believe there might be some. But I cannot give a number."

"I would like to see this settlement for myself, though I also recognize that my motivations are fairly selfish." Allura said.

"It's not selfish if it means that we have potential new allies." Coran pointed out. "We can't do another wormhole jump so soon, but we can work our way in that direction, barring any immediate distress signals."

"Sounds like a good plan." Shiro said. "Any objections or concerns?"

There were none, however, Pidge made a small triumphant noise as Shiro's arm stopped flickering.

"Found the problem." They commented. "Tali, hand me the welding tool, will ya?"

Tali passed the tool over and asked,

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, this piece just got knocked out of place. What was holding it in place broke off, from wear and tear basically." Pidge explained, carefully sticking the tool into the crevice of Shiro's elbow. "It's a design flaw, really. Putting something like that in the elbow. It's right in that funny-bone area. You know, where you hit your elbow and your arm basically goes numb and tingles? Except instead of a tingling feeling, it's hindering the ability to fully turn the quintessence components on and off. So you get enough hits to this area, it breaks loose."

They removed the tool and said,

"Alright, Shiro, on and off, please."

Shiro's arm lit up purple, then he turned it off.

"Feel alright?" Pidge asked.

"Yeah, feels great, thanks, Pidge." Shiro said.

"You said that the limb is powered by quintessence?" Caelum said, brow furrowing. "I do not believe I have ever seen it that color…"

"I was a prisoner of Zarkon for a year," Shiro explained. "During that time, the Witch Haggar fitted me for the arm."

"The quintessence is enhanced by Haggar's magic. That's why it's got the different color." Hunk added. He frowned suddenly and moved over beside Pidge, who was about to start putting the plates back on. "Hang on, Pidge, I want to give it another look."

"The repair?" Pidge asked, brow furrowing.

"No, the quintessence tubes. You mind, Shiro?" Hunk asked.

"No, go ahead." Shiro said, stretching his arm out, resting it across Pidge's lap, for Hunk to take a look at the clear tubes that glowed purple from the quintessence.

"I'm going to give it a gentle touch, but tell me if it hurts, okay?" Hunk said, grabbing a small probing tool. Shiro nodded and Hunk gently used the end of the tool to poke the tubing and then lifted it some. "It's weird. This stuff doesn't burn out. It's like a never ending fuel source."

"It'd be cool if we could get cars and stuff to run off of it back on Earth." Lance said. "That's got to be better than gasoline. A little more eco-friendly."

"Not necessarily." Coran said. "The quintessence still needs to be harvested. That involves literally sucking the life out of something living, such as a tree or other plant life."

"Defeats the purpose of being eco-friendly, then." Lani said.

"Something the matter, Hunk?" Shiro asked, noticing Hunk's frown.

"Not really, just… There's something a little different about this stuff than the other samples that we have." He said. "I dunno. Maybe what I'm seeing is just air bubbles? It's not a big deal, I just noticed something different compared to the stuff we have down in the lab."

"You have quintessence on board this ship?" Caelum said, surprised.

"No, we have Haggar enhanced quintessence on board this ship." Pidge said. Hunk gave them a nod, and they started replacing the plates. "Not much, and only to create our own weapons. We destroyed the rest. We have an expression on Earth, fight fire with fire. That's what we're doing."

"It seems like a lot of things would just get burned." Caelum said.

"Eh, so far, just our fingers." Tali commented. "But, you know, war, sacrifices must be made. Our finger have served nobly, going above and beyond the call of duty, our fingerprints somewhat permanently maimed."

"And some gave all," Shiro said as small whirring sounds came from his right hand as he wiggled the fingers there.

"I must admit, I am very surprised to have had two rumors confirmed as fact tonight: that Altea's last princess lives, and that a former prisoner of Zarkon is now a Paladin of Voltron. Well, perhaps that is three rumors, with Voltron's return." Caelum said. "May I inquire as to how this all came to be?"

The story was told, beginning with the Kerberos mission, and the abduction of Shiro, Matt and Commander Holt, then Shiro's return to Earth a year later, followed by the finding of the Blue Lion and how Blue took the Paladins to Arus, where the Castle—and, by proxy, Allura and Coran—was located.

"I am sorry to hear that your father and brother are still unaccounted for, Paladin Pidge," Caelum said. "I wish I had something to offer you. Perhaps I can ask some of my contacts if any information can be gathered about the occupants of the work camps."

"That would be great, thank you," Pidge said. "They have been transferred a few times, and probably more since I was last able to gather data."

"It's getting rather late, and we've had a rather adventurous evening," Allura said, standing up. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation tomorrow over breakfast. Caelum, I'll show you to a guest room."

The group split up for the evening.

Though tired, Pidge decided to stay up a bit later to finish up on a project. They weren't expecting to hear a knock on their door less than half an hour later, and especially wasn't it to be a wide-eyed, wet-haired Shiro.

"Something's wrong," He said, and that was when they noticed that Shiro was holding his right wrist in his left hand, the fingers of his right hand curled. "I can't get the fingers to move."

Pidge moved aside and ushered him in, sitting him down on the bed.

"What happened?" They asked as they got their tools.

"I was getting a shower and while I was washing my hair I realized I couldn't straighten out my fingers." Shiro said as Pidge dragged their chair over.

Pidge opened up a panel on the underside of the arm, frowning.

"Okay, I'm going to do a test of each finger. Let me know if it hurts or gives you any sort of discomfort." Pidge said. Shiro nodded. They frowned as they tried to force the fingers to move. "Well, good news is, I don't think it's an internal thing."

"It isn't?" Shiro said as they started to replace the panel.

"No. It sounds like the finger joints are a bit rusty." Pidge said. "Good news is, it's an easy fix, and you can apply this fix nightly, or someone else can."

With that, they went over and pulled out a small can of oil. They resumed their seat and grabbed Shiro's wrist.

"This isn't going to hurt," They promised. "Or be too messy. It might smell bad though."

With that, they carefully applied the oil to the metal joints in Shiro's fingers.

"Should we have been doing this before?" Shiro asked hesitantly. Pidge shrugged.

"Hard to tell. Even with the schematics and investigations Hunk and I have done, we're still figuring out new things." Pidge said. "Besides, truth be told, I like finding the flaws."

"You do?" Shiro asked, brow furrowed.

"Yes. Hunk and I are keeping a running list. Because on one hand—heh, hand, get it?—on one hand, this is a brilliant design. On the other hand, it is difficult to get on and off, which isn't healthy, and then there's little maintenance issues like this that accumulated over time. I'd love to throw all these flaws in the Witch's face someday. Speaking of getting this thing on and off, does it feel tight right now?"

"Yeah, actually, it does." Shiro said. "How did you know?"

"Research. Residual limbs swell overnight or during showers and baths or exercise." They paused in the second application of oil, looking up with a frown. "It hurts often, doesn't it?"

"It aches." Shiro said with a shrug. "I deal."

"Your self-sacrificial behavior is going to kill you one day, Shiro." Pidge said with a sigh.

"Duly noted." Shiro said.

Pidge told him to try moving the fingers, which actually worked this time. Pidge nodded.

"Alright," They said. "Like I said, easy fix. And, uh, well. It's even better because… Well, anyone can do it, but Tali is like a master engineer, so she'll definitely have no problem applying this nor will she mind the smell too much at night and—"

"What are you talking about?" Shiro asked, brow furrowing.

Pidge felt their face heat.

"Um, well, the other night… I kind of heard you and Tali talking. And then she and I talked a few days later. About the two of you. And she told you that she likes you. And you like her. So, um, yeah."

"I don't like Tali." Shiro said quickly. "At least, not in that way. And she doesn't like me that way either. What you heard that night, or at least what I think you may have heard… Well, Tali does like someone. And it's Matt."

Pidge blinked.

"Matt?" They repeated incredulously.

"Yeah." Shiro said, nodding.

"Matt. My brother Matt?"

"The one and the same."

"That actually makes the conversation I had with Tali make much more sense, but are you absolutely, positively sure it's Matt?"

"Yes, Pidge, it's Matt. Your MIA brother. My best friend."

"Huh." Pidge said, completely floored. "Who would have thought that a pretty, intelligent girl could actually have a crush on my nerd of an older brother."

"I think they'd do well together." Shiro said.

"Oh, they'd be incredibly adorable, no doubt about it. I'm just… Huh. Wow." Pidge said. They nodded. "Okay. I can process this…"

But now it was even more motivation to find Matt. They had already suspected that their brother had a crush on Tali, and now that they knew she felt that way about him… She had to make sure they had some sort of happily ever after.

And, maybe, they still had a shot at their own…

"So, uh," Pidge said awkwardly. "That means you're still looking for sleeping buddies, then, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Shiro said. "Why? You volunteering?"

"Well, um, yeah." Pidge said. "I mean, you're already here, I'm ready for bed, you look ready for bed… We should, we need to, sleep."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan." Shiro said. "And, Pidge? Thanks. For everything."

"What I'm here for." Pidge said. "Now get under the covers and scoot over. I'm going to bed an hour earlier than usual, that should tell you how exhausted I am."

"Or you're finally developing a healthy sleep schedule." Shiro retorted, but doing what Pidge told him to do.

Pidge scoffed as they took of their glasses and got under the blankets as well.

"I doubt it." They said, turning off the light. "Good night, Shiro."

"Good night, Pidge."

They both went to sleep feeling much more content.

But each was well aware that they kept squandering opportunities.

 _I refuse to do that again. Next available opportunity, I'll say how I feel._ Shiro and Pidge each thought as they drifted off to sleep.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two:

Pidge groaned at the sound of sirens, feeling Shiro shift behind them as he sat up with a yawn.

"No rest for the weary Paladins." He said as Pidge grabbed their glasses and got out of bed. He stretched some and slid out of the bed, gently patting their shoulder as he went. "Meet you on deck."

"Yeah." Pidge said, grabbing their armor pieces.

Five minutes later, Pidge and Shiro were the last to arrive on the bridge.

"What's going on?" Shiro asked. "Distress signal?"

"Yes." Allura said, frowning as she studied something on the screen.

"Great, so where we headed?" Lance asked through a yawn.

"That seems to be the problem," Coran said. "We're not sure."

"How can you not be sure? It's a distress signal, it's coming from somewhere, right?" Tali asked.

"Yes, but that is usually easier when that somewhere is not moving." Allura said.

"The signal is moving?" Hunk said, brows furrowed. "So, what? It's on a ship? Or is it the Illevians?"

"It's moving too fast to be Illeva," Coran explained. "So it has to be a ship."

"That could make answering the signal difficult." Shiro said. "Especially without a lot of necessary information. There's nothing we can do about that except get closer to where the signal's coming from."

"Even if that puts us immediately into battle with a Galra warship?" Shinji asked.

"Even if that is to happen." Allura confirmed.

"Maybe especially if," Pidge said. "For all we know, this could be some ship trying to flee a Galra cruiser."

"We're not learning any more by standing around here," Shiro said. "Paladins, to your Lions."

Four nods and the Paladins darted in different directions.

"Should we form Voltron?" Keith asked on the way to the hangers.

"It could be overkill," Pidge said.

"Or a tactical disadvantage." Shiro said. "We'll form Voltron if necessary."

The Lions left the hangers, waiting for the ship to arrive. To their surprise, what appeared was a lone Galra cruiser.

"What the quiznak?" Hunk said. "Allura, is that where the signal's coming from?"

"Yes, actually," Allura said, surprised as she activated the particle barrier as the cruiser began to shoot at the Castle and the Lions. "Judging by their delay, they were not expecting us."

"Could prisoners be on board and activating the signal?" Pidge asked as they pulled up the Green Lion. "Without the Galra knowing about it?"

"It's possible. I think we need to find out." Allura said. "Pidge, can you activate the Green Lion's invisibility and get on board?"

"Yeah, but back-up would be much appreciated." Pidge said.

"I don't want too many Lions to disappear, that looks suspicious." Shiro said.

"I'll go on board if you can find a way to get back to the Castle," Tali said.

"I'll go, too." Shinji said a bit reluctantly.

"As will I," Caelum said.

"I'm going to take a hit and then take Green back, so they think they damaged the Lion or me." Pidge said, bracing for impact as a bolt came towards them. The Lion spun out of control for a moment, then 'limped' back to the hanger, where the three others were waiting to go. Activating Green's invisibility, Pidge flew them back out of the hanger and towards the ship, latching Green on to the underside of the ship.

Pidge cut a hole in the ship's hull, and once everyone was inside the ship, sealed it up.

"Okay, we're in." Pidge said.

"Number Five, I'm sending you a way to track the signal and the prisoners." Coran said.

"Much appreciated, Coran." Pidge said as they activated the display on their gauntlet. "Alright, team, we go straight then turn right at the next intersection."

"Pidge," Tali said in a low voice as they walked. "Do you think it's possible that it's Matt?"

"I'm hopeful," Pidge admitted. "Activating a distress signal on a Galra ship would be something he could probably figure out."

"Paladin Pidge, I have a suggestion," Caelum said. "If we split up, we can find the source of the distress signal as well as aid the other Paladins and the Princess by sabotaging the ship. That will end the battle faster as well as provide a safer way to transport the prisoners."

"I like that idea," Pidge said. "Shinji, will you go with Caelum?"

Shinji nodded.

"Be careful," Pidge said. "And watch out for sentries."

The two groups parted. Pidge bit their lip as they got closer and closer to the distress signal. However, two hallways away, the entire ship jolted, sending Tali and Pidge crashing into the wall. And, worse, the gravity stopped working.

"Caelum! Shinji! What's going on?" Pidge called through the communicators.

"The good news is, we found the weapons generator," Caelum said.

"The bad news, it also powers the gravity." Shinji added with a grunt.

"Any chance you can get that back?" Tali asked as she clung to a metal beam, trying to get right-side up.

"Working on it," Shinji said. "Could use an engineer, though."

"With weapons down, I'm sending the other Paladins to board as soon as these fighters are taken care of." Allura said. "Have you found the prisoners?"

"Almost, we're trying to get to them now," Pidge said. They stuck out their hand for Tali. "Hang on to me."

Tali grabbed Pidge's hand and wrapped her arms around Pidge's neck as the younger one activated their jet-pack, propelling them forward towards their destination.

"Boarding now," Hunk said. "Shinji, Caelum, send me some directions and I'll bring tools to get the gravity up again."

"Sending." Shinji said.

Pidge cut off their jetpack as they and Tali reached the door. A moment's tinkering and the door was open, revealing a dozen very confused floating prisoners.

"Greetings!" Pidge said, raising their hand as they clung to the doorway. "My name is Pidge, and I'm a Paladin of Voltron, and this is my friend, Tali. We got your distress signal. Sorry about the gravity, but it should come back on soon.

One—a tall, shaggy blue furred creature—got excited.

"You got the distress signal!" She exclaimed. "I was so worried that it would not work!"

"It did, we don't think the Galra even figured it out." Pidge said. They looked around the room, hopeful. "Do you know if this is the only cell with prisoners?"

"Yes, this is everyone." The furry being said with a nod.

Pidge tried to keep their smile, but it was hard to do with their heart sinking.

"Okay," They said. "Um, can you show me how you all got a distress signal out?"

Just then, the gravity came back on and everyone floated to the floor again. The furry creature beckoned Pidge to come inside the cell as Tali began to file the others out.

"We were told that this ancient symbol would guide us and bring us aide." She explained, showing her a panel in the wall. "All we had to do was remove the panel and adjust a few wires."

Pidge's eyes widened as they saw the 'ancient symbol'.

No.

No way.

It couldn't be.

"Lance," Pidge said into their helmet. "I'm going to need you and your expertise to confirm what I'm seeing."

"Wait, what?" Lance said. "What are you talking about?"

"Sending visual." Pidge said, raising their gauntlet to scan the 'symbol'.

There was a moment's silence, then Lance sucked in a breath before he yelled,

"HERE COME DAT BOI!"

"Oh, feces," Coran said in response. "How are you?"

Pidge grinned and began to laugh.

"Pidge, what the quiznak?" Hunk said.

"Lance, why did you teach Coran about the 'Dat Boi' meme?" Shiro asked exasperatedly.

"Shiro, you're just upset that he beat you to it." Tali pointed out as she came over to look at the same 'symbol': a carved image of a frog riding a unicycle.

"Wait, Shiro, you know 'Dat Boi'?" Hunk said.

"What is a 'Dat Boi'?" Caelum asked.

"Takashi, you've been holding out on them." Shinji commented wryly.

"What does that mean?" Keith asked.

Neither brother responded, so Tali did:

"It means that Shiro here has been hiding the fact that he's—by my last official count—the current reigning Meme Lord Supreme. Though if this is any indicator, Matt's currently trying to reclaim the title…"

"Wait, you found a meme on a Galra space cruiser?" Lani said.

"Yep." Pidge said, grin splitting their face. "And that means one thing: Matt was here."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"So what I'm hearing is that Matt completely corrupted you regarding memes." Keith said as they gathered the Galra crewmembers together, the surrender of the ship coming with minimal difficulty as the robotic sentries were easily shut down and there were only five live Galra crew members aboard: the commander, two other officers, an engineer and a communication specialist, all currently seated in front of the Paladins and handcuffed.

"Can we have this discussion later?" Shiro asked with an irritated sigh.

"No," Hunk answered, struggling to open a container of cargo for investigation. "We feel betrayed, Shiro. You've kept this from us for so long… We thought you trusted us…"

"It's memes!" Shiro exclaimed with exasperation.

"Yes, but think of all the fun we could have been having. Meetings would have gone a lot faster if we used the right memes." Lance said. "Now tell me more about this Meme Lord Supreme title. How do you earn it?"

"There's a point system," Shiro answered reluctantly. "Matt's idea."

"Of course it was." Pidge said. "Sounds like something he would do, and drag other people into…"

"How the heck did I not notice this competition thing back at the Garrison?" Keith asked.

"Keith, babe, you know you're not the most observant of people, right?" Lance said.

"Actually, Shiro made Matt promise not to do memes in front of you, Keith." Tali said.

"Were you afraid of corrupting an impressionable youth?" Hunk asked with a grunt, finally prying open the container, only to groan at seeing a whole bunch of smaller containers inside. "Aw, great… But, anyways, memes might have actually helped in that case…"

Shiro's face turned red and he mumbled something.

"What was that?" Lance said, cupping a hand to the side of his helmet where his ear would be.

"I said I wanted Keith to think I was cool!" Shiro said with exasperation.

"Takashi, you own _Settlers of Catan_ , the _Star Trek_ edition." Shinji pointed out. "You were never going to pass as cool."

"Your biggest act of teen rebellion was not wearing uniform regulation socks under your boots." Tali added. "Well. Not including the short lived emo phase and hiding a dog in your dorm for nearly two months…"

"I have so many questions…" Lance said.

"What is this? Roast Shiro Day?" Shiro demanded.

"It's still night by the Castle's clocks," Lani pointed out as she entered the hanger. "Allura sent me to tell you guys that Coran's got the pods configured."

"What are you going to do to us?" The Galra Engineer asked.

"Quiet, Torok," The commander hissed. "A Galra faces death with dignity and honor, even at the hands of the enemy."

"We're not going to kill you," Shiro said quickly. "We don't execute our prisoners of war. We do, however, put them in stasis. You're basically just going to sleep and be frozen in time."

"How do we know you will release us?" Torok asked.

"Quiet!" His commander yelled.

"I have a mate and a child, Commander! Forgive me for spending a moment to be concerned about their welfare and not that of the Empire's!" Torok yelled back.

"How dare you speak to your commanding officer that way, soldier?" The commander yelled.

"Okay, enough!" Shiro said, stepping between them. He turned to Torokk. "I cannot give you a definite time period, but I promise, we will release you from the pods as soon as we can. But no more than one year."

Torok considered this, glaring at Shiro some, then he turned away with a small nod. Behind them, the commander muttered something about blood traitors.

"Oh, for the love of quiznak." Hunk groaned as he got open one of the smaller containers, only to find something bound up with a lot of cloth and string. "It's going to take forever to get these knots undone… Keith, can I borrow your knife for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure." Keith said, withdrawing the blade and passing it to Hunk.

Shiro had just taken a step back when Torok sucked in a gasp and roared: "LIARS!"

Things happened very fast. Torok launched himself to his feet and towards Keith with an enraged yell. Pidge yelled and shot out their bayard, which wrapped around Torok, shocking him slightly as he fell to the ground and Lance had his bayard pointed at Torok's head.

"You are liars, Paladins of Voltron! Let us go immediately!" Torok yelled, struggling in the combined bonds of the handcuffs and Pidge's bayard.

"What are you talking about?" Pidge demanded. "Lance, I got this, watch the other prisoners."

Lance's bayard shifted to the four remaining Galra, who were also surprised by the engineer's sudden outburst, fortunately keeping still.

"You say you don't kill," Torok said, snarling. "But yet you carry a trophy that can only have been taken from the corpse of a Galra."

"The knife belongs to the Red Paladin," Pidge said. "He didn't take it as a trophy!"

"No! You killed him!" Torok said, still fighting.

"Wait," Keith said, reclaiming his knife from Hunk. "I know you won't believe me, but I've had this knife my whole life. I can't explain it, but I'm telling the truth. But you know who this knife really belongs to? I know his name is Thace"

Torok stopped struggling to glare at Keith.

"Yes, I knew the man you killed," He spat out. "I last heard from him eight months ago, when he was on leave from his post. The ship he was stationed on was heavily damaged in a battle against Voltron, and most of the crew are still unaccounted for. But at least now I know the fate of one."

The weight of Torok's words settled heavily on the room. Keith said nothing, but simply turned and walked away.

He walked straight past the training deck and instead entered the locker room, heading straight for the showers.

For the first time, the thought occurred to him that—in this intergalactic war—there was a chance he had already encountered his father. And that his father could have been dead, with Keith having a hand in it.

Keith stripped out of his armor, then turned the water on as hot as possible, standing underneath it, letting the water pound down on him. He couldn't process. Not this information, not the fact that he was probably scalding his skin. Nothing.

He had told Lance before that he was satisfied with what he knew about his father.

And now he knew he had been lying to himself. He had so many questions. And now he might never have the answers.

He may have unknowingly killed his own father…

Keith didn't realize when the water was turned off, or even really the huge, fluffy towel that was wrapped around him.

"Come on," Lance said, gently leading him out of the shower and towards the bench. "Let's get you dried off."

Lance made him sit down while taking a towel to Keith's hair.

"You okay?" Lance asked, pausing in the toweling of Keith's hair.

"No. Not really." Keith said after a moment. "My mind's kind of a blur… I just… I hadn't even given that a second's thought. That he could be dead. That I could have killed him. Or that he's alive and we're fighting on opposite sides of a war…"

Lance sat down on the bench beside him, carefully putting an arm around Keith's shoulder.

"I don't know what to tell you," He admitted. "And I'm sorry for that."

"Not your fault." Keith mumbled, resting his head on Lance's shoulder. "But, Lance, you realize the implications, right? That, if there's a chance that we brought down a ship with my father on it, then there's also a chance we destroyed a ship with Commander Holt and Matt."

Lance was quiet.

"Yeah." He whispered. "Yeah, I think Pidge realized that. Shiro and Tali, too. This is all a mess. Because it's war. And maybe we're too young for all this, but we're all the universe has. But, you know what?"

"What?" Keith asked.

"The Lions chose us for a reason. Blue led you to her for a reason." Lance said. "We may be all the universe has to offer as defenders of the universe, and yeah maybe we're just a bunch of teenagers. But the most powerful sentient weapon in the universe thinks we can do it. Anyone else can have their doubts, even us, but the Lions—Voltron—think we've got this. Let's face it, Allura wouldn't have faith in us if the Lions didn't—I mean we were kind of a huge mess when we first started this. The Lions are the ones who believed in us from the get-go. We've got to trust them, and trust that everything's going to turn out okay."

Keith nodded some, still slumped against Lance.

"This is why you're the Blue Paladin, Lance. Not any of the rest of us," He said softly. "You make trusting something—anything, anyone—sound easy."

Lance wrapped his other arm around Keith, silently holding him in a hug, letting silence envelope them as the weight of the universe fully settled on their shoulders.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three:

"Princess?"

Allura turned to see Caelum at the entryway to the Cyropod hall.

"Yes?" Allura said.

"If you are done here… May I speak with you in private for a moment?" Caelum asked.

"Yes, of course." Allura said. She looked behind her to confirm with Coran, who was finishing up the cyrofreezing process, before leading Caelum to the lounge.

"I have some questions," Caelum said as he took a seat across from Allura.

"I will do my best to answer those questions," Allura said.

Caelum took a deep breath, then said, "Where did the Red Paladin get a Galra knife?"

Allura hesitated, but only for a moment. "I do not know how you will take this information to heart, so I shall preface it by saying that Keith is a good person, a good Paladin. He wants nothing more than to see Zarkon destroyed. He is a steadfast warrior, loyal to our cause, and the Red Lion would not have chosen him if he was anything but.

"However, in recent months, some of Keith's… past… has caught up to him. In ways he was completely ignorant to previously. The knife belonged to Keith's deceased mother, who was given the knife as a betrothal gift from a Galra warrior who spent a short period of time on planet Earth. For what reason, we do not know. But Keith is half human, half Galra as a result."

"I see," Caelum said, frowning some. "Actually, that is a lie. I don't see. He does not look Galra?"

"Not on a regular basis, no." Allura said. "However, when his temper is raised, he can take on some of the signature features of the Galra. His skin will become mottled purple, or change color completely. His eyes as well. Occasionally his ears will transform, and his fingers with shift to accommodate claws, and his canine teeth will become more pronounced." She paused. "Keith had no knowledge of his heritage prior to joining Voltron, and this bit of information came as a shock to him. I can't say that I did not have some doubts about him, but I trust Keith with my life. I ask that you do the same, though I understand—and I believe Keith will understand—if you cannot."

"I understand that the Red Lion would not just choose anyone to be her Paladin. I respect the Lions and their decisions. If that includes choosing one with Galra blood to be her pilot, then so be it." Caelum said. "However, I cannot speak for all of your people at the settlement. Therefore, I only request that we keep this matter as private as possible, and perhaps it would be advisable for the Red Paladin to keep his knife here during that time."

Allura nodded, though wincing internally at the thought of asking Keith to leave his knife on board the Castle. Then she immediately brushed the feelings of dread aside. That would be a Shiro-handled issue. Or perhaps Lance. Shiro and Lance. Yes. Both.

"I understand completely, and will make sure that the Paladins and the rest of the crew are aware," Allura said. She looked down at her hands in her lap. "Caelum… Do you think they'll like me? The Alteans in the settlement?"

"I imagine so," Caelum said. "So far, I cannot find a reason for them to dislike you."

"Still…" Allura said. "It has been ten thousand years… A lot has changed in that time. I don't know what my people think or want. Or even if they want to be considered 'my people'."

"I do, if it matters." Caelum said. "For many, you are the very last link to Altea. Our culture and heritage. So many of us were small children when Altea fell and the Galra Empire rose. Many, like myself, had only been to Altea a handful of blurry times, living on other planets with our diplomat parents. You and the Paladins now may just be what we need to bridge Old Altea and New Altea. Bring us back to our roots while continuing to grow in this new age."

Allura smiled at him. "Thank you, Caelum. I appreciate your sentiments. And I assume I'll know shortly what the future holds."

"I think it will be a bright one," Caelum said, returning her smile. "Our lost princess, new Paladins of Voltron, so many planets already having been freed… I am excited for what the future holds."

"You are relentlessly optimistic," Allura commented. "That is rather refreshing. Thank you."

"It is my honor," Caelum said, nodding his head. The speakers crackled behind them.

"Princess, we are ready to depart." Coran said.

"I'll be at the bridge in a moment," Allura responded, standing up. She turned to Caelum. "Will you join us?"

"I would love to," Caelum said, following her out of the lounge.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Hunk, you ever figure out what was in those crates?" Lance asked from his chair on the bridge.

"Yeah, dried fish. According to Coran it's some very important ingredient for a dish for some general's dinner table," Hunk answered.

"The Galran dish Johnomansh is very delicious," Coran added.

"Oh, Johnomansh!" Allura said. "I haven't had that since I was a girl…"

"What exactly is Johnomansh?" Shiro asked.

"It is a dish comprising of dried, spiced fish that is rehydrated using a special broth, and served on a bed of herbs and boiled grains." Coran said, a bit wistfully. "It's a bit of a delicacy to the Galra, as the spices only grow on the Galra planet in certain conditions and are only harvestable for a few hours. The fish are covered in the spices and dried to preserve the flavor and the broth enhances that flavor."

"Wow, we're really starting to hit the Galra Empire where it hurts, taking their fancy tuna," Pidge said dryly, grinning.

"Our next target is their alcohol," Lance said.

"Forget that, we need to go for their candy and junk food supply." Keith said.

"No, their coffee is what we need to take out." Tali said. "My grandpa used to say you can't run an army without coffee."

"You sound more evil than the Galra," Lani said teasingly.

"War changes you," Hunk said, mock solemnly.

"I think it's more evil to make sure that there are minor inconveniences in the lives of our enemies rather than send monsters and stuff to attack them." Pidge said.

"So, your next big stealth mission is going to be to replace the Galra Command center's hot water heater with a smaller one?" Tali said.

"Ooh, that's good, I was going to say put a virus on every single self-checkout at every Galra grocery store." Pidge said.

"Switch the signs on 'pull' doors to say 'push' and vice-versa." Shiro added.

"Is there a way to make sure that their socks are always wet?" Shinji asked.

"Dude… That's straight up evil…" Hunk said. "I mean, it sucks for us because we have regular skin, but they have fur… Wait, do Galra have fur on their feet? Keith, do Galra have fur on their feet?"

"How should I know?" Keith responded.

"Well, are your feet furry?" Hunk asked.

"Keith is a furry," Pidge said.

"No, Lance is." Shiro said, looking over his shoulder at Pidge, the two sharing a grin as Lance exclaimed 'Hey!'.

"You know, I don't think I've ever had my shoes off when I've gone Galra," Keith said, frowning. "So I really don't know."

"It'd be really impractical if you did. I mean, all over your feet." Tali added. "You can't get good traction if there's fur on the bottom of your feet. You'd have to wear shoes all the time so as to not slide all around."

"Coran, settle this for us or next time Keith goes Galra someone's going to tackle him and rip his boots off." Lance said.

"Galra have paw pads on the bottom of their feet," Coran said. "Though fur does grow between the toes often."

"Toe beans." Lani whispered reverently, grinning.

Allura cleared her throat. "Speaking of the Galra and Keith's Galra shifts… Caelum and I spoke last night and we believe that—for the time that we are at the Altean settlement—it would be in our best interest to not reveal Keith's alien heritage. If only because we cannot guarantee what the reaction would be."

"Is there a chance it would be a violent reaction?" Shiro asked with concern.

"I doubt it," Caelum said. "But I would prefer to be cautious."

"Makes sense," Hunk said.

Keith shrugged. "It's not like we were telling other planets we visit anyway for pretty much the same reason. We don't know how people will react knowing that one of the Voltron Paladins is part Galra."

"Yeah, but at the same time, one of the Paladins of Voltron is part-Galra," Pidge said, frowning. "Whether people like it or not, we're not starting a Galran genocide. We defeat Zarkon and all his cronies, but they're still going to live in this universe with the rest of us. Acknowledging that not all Galra are bad—and that one is a Paladin—would be a great place to start."

"I'm with Pidge, but starting with a race of beings that are essentially refugees that had their entire planet wiped out by the Galra isn't a great place to start." Lance said.

"I don't mean starting now, but we're going to have to address it at some time," Pidge said.

"I agree with you, too, Pidge," Allura said. "The question is, when? There won't be a guarantee of a 'good' time to start."

"Anything else we should know before we arrive at the settlement?" Shiro asked Caelum.

"Nothing comes to mind," Caelum said. He turned to Allura. "We are close enough that I can initiate a communication channel."

"Then by all means, be my guest." Allura said, moving aside so Caelum could get to the monitor.

He opened the channel and moments later, a female voice echoed throughout the room: "Vessel, identify yourself and all crew members."

"This is the Castle of Lions; I am Caelum Lyrason, but the commander of the Castle is Princess Allura Alforsdaughter of Altea, alongside Coran Arayason and the Paladins of Voltron—Takashi Shirogane, Keith Kwan, Lance Sanchez-Garcia, Pidge—"

"Wait, Caelum?" The female voice said. It was the same voice, but suddenly the professionalism in her voice was gone and she sounded a lot younger. "Is this really you?"

"Of course it is, who else would have put in my personal communication code?" Caelum said.

"And… I'm bringing up visual now. No… No way…" The girl said. "You're cleared for landing."

"And if you could ask my grandfather to meet us—" Caelum started to say.

"He has already been contacted," The girl said. "Welcome home, Caelum. And, Princess Allura, Paladins of Voltron? Welcome to New Altea."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

As the ramp of the Castle lowered, Allura felt herself stand up straighter.

There were so many people, all wide-eyed and curious as she descended, Coran on one side of her, Caelum on the other, the Paladins directly behind her. She heard whispers and saw little children point excitedly.

An elderly Altean man with gray-silver hair and green eyes leaning on a cane met them, surrounded by what appeared to be a few aides. Caelum surged forward, grinning as he embraced the man.

At Allura's side, Coran stiffened, just noticeable out of the corner of the princess's eye.

"Coran, is something the matter?" Allura whispered.

"Everything is fine, Princess." Coran assured her, but his face didn't convince her.

Caelum released the man and turned to his new friends. "Princess Allura Alforsdaughter of Altea, allow me to introduce you to my grandfather, Dei Avenason. Grandfather, this is Princess Allura, our lost princess."

"It is an honor, your highness," Dei said, dropping into a bow.

"The honor is mine," Allura said, curtsying. "I cannot believe I am standing here…" She glanced over her shoulder at the watching crowds. "Would it be alright if I addressed the crowd? I would like to introduce the new Paladins of Voltron to them."

"You are our Princess, you may do whatever you please." Dei said.

Allura raised her head and turned to the people, stepping forward. She curtsied to them as well.

"Greetings," She said. "I am Princess Allura. Before Altea fell, my father—King Alfor—placed me in a cyropod to protect me from the Galra. When I awoke on the planet Arus, ten thousand years had passed, and I learned of the fate of my father and our home. It would have been easy to give up hope; but I was fortunate, because not only had the Blue Lion of Voltron been located, the Lion had chosen a new Paladin, and brought not only her own Paladin, but all of the pilots of Voltron to Arus from the planet Earth.

"I am very proud to present to you the Paladins of Voltron: Lance, pilot of the Blue Lion; Hunk, pilot of the Yellow Lion; Pidge, pilot of the Green Lion; Keith, pilot of the Red Lion; and Shiro, the pilot of the Black Lion and head of Voltron. Together, we plan to end Zarkon's reign and prevent other species from knowing the loss of their homes."

At first the reaction was quiet, but then excitement grew amongst the crowd. The Alteans were cheering—cheering for her, for her Paladins, for Voltron.

Allura took a deep breath and smiled, her eyes filling with tears slightly.

She only wished her father was here to see this.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

There was a lot of hand-shaking and bowing and curtsying and introductions in the following hours. Allura opened up the Castle for the Alteans to see, especially for them to see the Lions. The smallest of the children were especially enthralled as they crawled all over the Lions paws and got incredibly excited when the Paladins let them enter the cockpits.

"This is the equivalent of a human child seeing a dinosaur or a unicorn," Lani said, grinning as she took a picture of an excited little Altean girl sitting in the seat of the Yellow Lion, the girl on her knees in order to reach forward to grab the controls.

The mice were also fawned over, especially by some of the older Alteans.

"Oh, I used to have a pet mouse just like this one when I was a little girl," One woman cooed as she pet Platt on the head.

"Everyone is so happy," Allura commented to Coran, grinning as she looked around. "Coran… This is much more than I could ever have hoped for…"

"You've been through a lot," Coran commented, smiling at her. "I don't think I've ever seen you this happy before."

"I don't think I've ever felt this happy or relieved." Allura said. "We thought we were the last two Alteans for so long…" She smiled up at him. "Thank you, Coran."

"For what, Princess?" Coran asked.

"If not for you and your support and guidance, I think I would have given up a long time ago. I wouldn't have this moment right now. Thank you."

Coran wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. "I feel the same way about you, Allura. I would have given up a very long time ago if it weren't for you."

"Princess Allura! Coran!"

The two turned to see Caelum approaching, along with Dei. Allura felt Coran stiffen again, his arm around her tensing before he let it drop to his side. Allura wondered what kept bringing on that response, but instead greeted grandfather and grandson as they approached.

"Princess Allura, we cannot thank you enough for this opportunity," Dei said. "You have brought much hope to our people, and a promise of peace."

"That is what Voltron stands for," Allura said, smiling. "I am just happy that this message can be shared with other Alteans… I imagine you both understand how Coran and I felt when we awoke some months ago from cyropods, completely ignorant of what had happened to our home and people, what had become of the universe, the loss of our loved ones…"

"We do keenly know those emotions and more," Dei said. "Caelum has informed me that he has told you our story, and related much of yours." His eyes trailed over to Coran. "Though it has left me with many more questions."

"That is understandable," Allura said with a nod. "And I have many questions for you as well, regarding steps towards the future."

"But of course," Dei said. "I believe we should start by planning your coronation…"

"Oh," Allura said, surprised. "Oh, I didn't…"

"Allura is still too young to be crowned queen," Coran said, stepping in for her, which she was grateful for, unsure how to phrase her intentions. "She will be old enough within three years, however, to take the crown. And, more importantly, the universe should be in a more stable position for her to take up that mantle."

"I am very dedicated to freeing the universe from Zarkon," Allura added, finding her thoughts and voice again. "I worry that I will not be able to give my subjects the attention they deserve while traveling with Voltron and increasing the number of members in the Voltron Alliance."

"Very mature of you, Princess," Dei said, smiling at her. "And in the meantime? We will need a regent to rule here at the settlement…"

"At the moment I don't want to upset any system currently in place at the settlement regarding leadership; too much change too soon can be damaging," Allura said.

Dei's smile faltered some and he sighed. "Princess… I need to be honest with you. We need you, or if not you, a regent, over the settlement. Yes, our current government system is working fine… But you, you are our princess. You are our representative of hope. We need you here, with us. While your intentions to fight Zarkon are undoubtedly noble, we will suffer here. Some may wonder that your quick departure means that you are not interested in the people. Or fear that we will lose you once again over the course of war. No, it is better for you to stay here or to have some sort of rule over the settlement through the crown of Altea."

Allura felt her heart pounding in her chest. "But the Paladins… Voltron…"

"Can they not function without you?" Dei asked. "Voltron is formed by five pilots, and you are not one of them, Princess."

"Grandfather, the Princess is still a vital part of the team," Caelum said, looking uncomfortable with the situation.

"What's going on?" Shiro asked as he and the other Paladins approached.

Caelum ignored their arrival and continued, "She pilots the Castle, and is a great strategist and diplomat. She cannot simply leave Team Voltron and they find the same level of success that they have."

"What?" Lance exclaimed as the Paladins all looked at Allura with wide-eyes. "You're leaving?"

"Dei believes I should stay here," Allura said, composing herself.

"We are your people. Your duty is to Altea and what remains of our people." Dei said.

"You wish to make the Princess a figurehead of hope and promise, while hindering her from spreading that hope and promise to others," Coran said, eyes hard as he glared at Dei. "Allura knows her duty, and she does everything in her power to fulfil them. But she also knows her own heart and desires, and she knows when to follow those desires and do what she feels is ultimately for the best. Not necessarily for what is left of Altea, but for the entire universe."

Dei returned Coran's hard stare. "I had wondered if you had finally learned your place, Coran. It seems that I was mistaken." He turned to the stunned Allura, whose eyes were wide at Dei's words. "Perhaps we should continue this discussion at another time. Without interference from those who have delusions of grandeur beneath their stations in life."

With that, Dei turned and left.

Caelum remained, looking a little mortified as he turned towards Coran, saying, "I apologize on—"

But it was too late, for Coran was walking off in the other direction.

"Um…" Lani said, approaching with Tali and Shinji. "What was that all about?"

A few minutes later, the Earth teens, Allura and Caelum were sitting on the bridge, Allura sitting on the floor looking at her lap.

"Allura, what's going on?" Keith asked. "What happened back there?"

"Do Coran and Dei know each other from before?" Shinji asked, leaning against the back of Shiro's chair.

"Not as far as I'm aware," Caelum said.

"I am also ignorant regarding their past interactions, if any," Allura said. She looked up, glancing at the Paladins. "You all came over as a group. Why?"

"Hunk got us and brought us over," Pidge said. "Said Coran was looking really tense."

"Yeah, it was really defensive stance," Hunk said. "He stuck his arm out slightly in front of you, like he was ready to push you aside in an attack or something."

Allura frowned. She hadn't noticed, but she didn't have the same vantage point the others had had.

"What did Dei mean about Coran not knowing his place?" Shiro asked.

Allura sat up straighter. This, at least, she could answer. "It's… It's a long story. My parents and Ryla made sure I knew it, though. It has a lot to do with the old social classes of Altea, however. I am not certain how much you know about the social classes, so I will do my best to summarize." Allura picked up a lock of her white hair. "I will use myself as an example. My family line—the line of the kings and queens of Altea—all had white hair as I do. As royalty, our powers are the strongest of the noble families."

"The lighter your hair color is, the stronger your powers are," Caelum added.

"Powers?" Tali repeated.

"Shape-shifting, predominately," Allura said. "By now, I'm sure you've noticed that Coran does not shape-shift?"

"Yeah, Coran does rely more heavily on clothing-based disguises," Hunk said. "First time we were on Shay's Balmera, he and I tried to sneak past Galra guards with him on my shoulders, a cloak and broken drone pieces."

"Wait, so Coran doesn't shapeshift or he can't?" Shiro asked.

"Can't," Allura said. "Those with dark hair and without powers are considered commoners, compared to the noble families and their lighter colored hair. And… I know it stepped on the toes of many members of the nobility when my father appointed Coran as his advisor, though I am certain that is not the event that Dei was alluding to.

"There is a tradition whenever a new King or Queen of Altea was crowned. All of the noble houses would swear loyalty to the new monarch. When my father was crowned king, the allegiances were sworn during the ceremony as usual. However, Coran—who was not my father's advisor at the time, only a childhood friend and comrade in arms—stepped forward and also swore fealty to my father. It was not necessary for him to do so, and it was an honest and sincere action, which I believe is what made my father appreciate it more. Many of the commoners were also appreciative of the action, as Coran was one of them despite an upbringing in the palace, and they finally had some sort of representation during this particular ceremony. The noble families, however, disapproved for a number of reasons: Coran wasn't noble-born, they believed it to be a planned action between my father and Coran, and they accused Coran of ladder climbing… Several of the commoners also believed this. It was quite a mess, and it appears that Coran still has not escaped the scrutiny that followed, especially after my father asked him to become an advisor, a role no commoner had ever occupied before."

"Geez." Pidge said. "From the sounds of it, Coran was more loyal than all of those families put together."

"Which is partially why Coran's actions increased their ire," Caelum said. "The implication that the noble families were only pledging loyalty out of tradition rather than sincerity was rather damaging."

"So. What happens now?" Lani asked.

"Now… I don't know." Allura said. "I can't stay here. I won't stay here… I want to be involved, but I will not abandon Voltron."

"Good. We need you." Keith said.

"Yeah, who else is going to boss us around and call us lazy lumps?" Lance said. "We all know that the worse Shiro will ever do is say he's disappointed in us…"

Shinji suddenly stood up straighter, eyes wide. "Wait a second… There's something else going on here, I think, between Dei and Coran."

"What do you mean?" Tali asked. "As in, you've figured out another reason why they don't like each other?"

"No, it's something else," Shinji said, shaking his head. "I think Dei may have been the original Blue Paladin."


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four:

"What?" Allura said. "Dei? The first Blue Paladin?"

"Look at what we know so far," Shinji said, then started ticking things off on his fingers. "Altean male, somehow survived the fall of Altea and the rise of the Galra even ten thousand years later, and Coran apparently hates him. Put all of those together, and Dei fits."

"Is it possible your grandfather was a Paladin?" Shiro asked Caelum.

"I don't know," Caelum admitted. "If he was, he never told me… But he rarely ever talks about Altea before the fall, life before the fall."

"So then we just need to ask the Blue Lion for confirmation," Lani said.

" _No bueno_ ," Lance said, shaking his head. "Blue says she will not confirm nor deny or give any other information regarding the first Blue Paladin. Says that he will have to tell us himself when he's ready."

"Simple then," Tali said. "We find a way to coax information out of Dei."

"I question your definition of 'simple'." Shiro told her.

"Look, if he was the first Blue Paladin, then technically speaking the current Blue Paladin should invoke some sort of feelings," Tali said. "Lance, think you can charm Dei some and see what happens?"

"I can, but… I don't know," Lance said, frowning slightly. "No offense, Caelum, but something about this… It doesn't…" He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried again. "After what I just saw between Dei and Coran, I don't know how I feel about Dei possibly having been the Blue Paladin before me."

"People can change," Pidge pointed out. "Zarkon was the Black Paladin before Shiro, and they're nothing alike. Same with Hunk and King Alfor, and Keith and Ryla, and me and the first Green Paladin."

"Pidge is correct," Allura said. "The Lions have specific qualities that they look for when they choose a Paladin. But that does not mean that one pilot has to be the same exact person as the previous pilot."

"Not to mention ten thousand years of trauma and loss could really mess a person up," Hunk added.

Lance nodded some, still not smiling. "I'll do my best, then."

"In the meantime," Shinji said. "I'll look for more information about what caused the first Voltron team to split. Especially regarding the first Green Paladin. If charm doesn't work, maybe bringing up facts can."

"We should also probably do something to keep my grandfather and Coran separated," Caelum added.

"I'll take on that job," Keith said. "I was planning to ask Coran for some help with my own information search anyway. If needed, I'll just say that it's a good excuse to stay in the Castle and avoid any Galra shift slip-ups."

"Sounds like we have a plan," Shiro said.

Everyone just simply silently hoped it was a good one.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Hey, Coran?" Keith said over breakfast.

"Yes, Number Four?" Coran said, looking up from his bowl, arching an eyebrow.

"I was wondering if you could help me," Keith said. "I… I decided I do want to figure out exactly who my father is. But a name and this knife are all I have to go on, and I know practically nothing about Galra customs and culture and stuff."

Coran brightened some and said, "I'd be more than happy to assist!"

"Can we start after breakfast?" Keith asked.

"Don't see why not."

And with that, Phase One was initiated.

After Keith and Coran left the dining room, Shinji stood up with his bowl. "I'll be in my room; last night, I pulled a couple of volumes that looked promising."

Which left Lance, Allura and Caelum to initiated Phase Two.

Allura and Lance met up with Caleum and Dei as planned. They exchanged greetings and Dei asked Allura about how she planned to spend her first full day at the settlement.

"I was hoping to take a tour," Allura explained. "Get to know what life is like here."

"In that case, I would be honored to give you a tour," Dei said.

Lance stepped in at this point, though still a bit reluctantly. "Actually, Dei, I was wondering if I could offer you a better tour of the Castle, as well as an up-close and personal meeting with the Blue Lion. Maybe even do a few laps around the planet. Blue just loves to meet new people."

Dei smiled some. "I would be honored."

A few minutes later, Lance led Dei into the Blue Lion's hanger, grandly proclaiming, "And here she is, the coolest, most beautiful, best I-can't-believe-she's-sentient Lion in the pride, the Blue Lion of Voltron."

"She truly is magnificent," Dei said, leaning on his cane as he stared up at the Blue Lion in awe. "Permission to approach?"

"Of course," Lance said, striding closer to Blue, putting a hand to her force-field, which lowered instantly. "Half the point of us coming here."

Dei came closer, resting his hand on one of Blue's massive paws. "I thought I would never see a Lion of Voltron again in my lifetime. It had been many decapheebs since she had last flown when Altea fell, and I assumed she and the other Lions were lost when Zarkon destroyed Altea. I have never been happier to have been wrong." Dei turned to Lance, and smiled slightly. "And, to be honest, I wasn't sure she'd ever pick another Paladin. King Alfor tried to find a replacement for years… She waited more than ten thousand years to pick the right one, it appears."

"We have a saying on Earth, that patience is a virtue," Lance said. He chuckled slightly. "That was, uh, one my mom said a lot… Mostly to me. Which means Blue has patience greater than all the Saints combined."

"It pays off, to have such discerning taste," Dei said.

"Want to go for a spin?" Lance asked.

"I would be delighted." Dei said. And he was, as Lance piloted Blue in the atmosphere. "The engineering is incredible, as are the aerodynamics." Dei eyed Lance and said, "It takes a very skilled and knowledgeable pilot to fly a Lion of Voltron. I can see why the Blue Lion chose you. Trying to get ahead of the game of her sisters, perhaps."

"Nah, I don't think that's the reason," Lance said, shrugging slightly. He didn't mind the occasional ego stroke, but Dei continuously seemed to be trying to flatter him. And for some reason it gave Lance a bad taste in his mouth. "Shiro has more training and flight hours, and Keith's got more innate skills. Compared to them, I'm just decent."

"You underestimate yourself and your abilities." Dei said. "You are far more skilled and more deeply bonded compared to your predecessor. He certainly did not have the same caliber." Dei's smile grew. "The Blue Lion has clearly raised her standards."

Blue let out an inaudible growl that Lance felt deep in his bones and heart. But Lance just smiled and said, "The Blue Lion picks her Paladin based on their quintessence, particularly on their abilities to have faith and trust. She chooses her Paladin based off of those qualities; I don't think those standards have changed."

Dei looked a little surprised, then said, "My apologies. Then it is clear that she has made the correct choice, because you put your faith in her and trust her decisions."

Lance simply nodded and started to direct Blue back to the Castle. They started to leave the hanger, then Lance stopped at the door, saying, "You go on down the hall, I'll catch up with you. I forgot to put something away."

Dei nodded and stepped out the door. Lance watched him go, then took a deep breath, pulling out his cellphone, sending a quick text to his friends: **Not Dei**.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Keith frowned as he looked back and forth between the markings on his knife and the display. "I think these clan markings are all starting to blur together." He told Coran.

"The differences are incredibly subtle in a lot of cases," Coran said. "See here?" He pulled up two that looked virtually identical, but Coran pointed at the bottom of one. "See how this one curls in on itself while the other—" He pointed at the other. "—curls out?"

"You can hardly tell," Keith said. "Why are so many alike?"

"These two clans happened to have been one clan that divided," Coran said. He pointed to the second markings. "This one was the original, while the other was the new clan's."

"Why make a new clan but just modify the clan symbol?" Keith asked.

"Galra stubbornness, predominately." Coran explained. "When these clans broke apart from the one, they both wanted to keep the symbol. One of Zarkon's ancestors stepped in to mediate, which resulted in the alteration for the newer clan."

"Why did they split in the first place?" Keith asked.

"Could be anything." Coran said. "See, the Galra didn't always have clans. They had warriors, and magic users, and politicians, and workers, but they were all part of the same people. Then the people became divided into clans: one was warriors and leaders, the other was everyone else. That worked by an adoption system. But then within those clans other clans developed into more specific categories. Farmers had one, craftsmen had others…"

"Oh, like a guild," Keith said. "Or a union."

"Somewhat," Coran said. "And then the clans became even more divided by specifics, until the clans today became known for a certain skill set. For example, there are many warrior clans, but each specializes in a form of combat. It was actually a big deal when Ryla became the Red Lion's pilot, as she was from a clan that specialized in sword fighting and it was not someone from the warrior clan who specialized in warfare piloting that was chosen."

"And so she basically stepped on someone else's turf," Keith said, nodding. "So, based off the basic design of my knife, that means my dad was part of one of the warrior clans?"

"Indeed," Coran said. "And unfortunately, we might not be able to determine which clan is yours, due to there being ten thousand years for new warfare to develop."

"We'd at least need to find an up-to-date guide," Keith said. "Think Pidge could download one somehow?"

"I think they'd at least give it a shot," Coran said. "But may I ask why you have this sudden desire to determine which clan your knife belongs to?"

"What happened on that ship a few days ago got me thinking," Keith said. "Mostly that figuring out who my father is and where he is in the grand scheme of things is a good idea. At least, it could give me some idea of who I am and where I belong."

Keith's brow furrowed as Coran laid his hand on Keith's shoulder. Keith looked up as Coran gazed at him seriously. "You are Keith, the pilot of the Red Lion and the son of Sun-Hi Kwan. You just so happen to also be the son of a Galra solider named Thace. And you belong here, in the Castle, with Voltron, no matter who your parents were. And you always will belong here. Found family is just as important as biological family."

Keith smiled. "Thanks, Coran. I needed that."

They both continued on, completely oblivious to the fact that their conversation had an eavesdropper.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

"So. Not Dei, then." Shinji said, frowning. "I was so sure…"

"It was a good theory," Shiro said. "And you're right, he did fit a lot of the clues."

"Coran did say he has a list of people he hates, and was glad he'd never have to deal with them again," Pidge pointed out.

"A real list or a hypothetical one?" Shinji asked.

"Hypothetical." Pidge said. They frowned. "Probably. You never really know with Coran." They turned to Lance and said, "So, how'd you figure it out? What happened?"

"I couldn't tell when he was being sincere or not," Lance said with a shrug. "Something just didn't feel right. He did a lot of complimenting and stuff, and for some reason it rubbed me the wrong way. It felt…"

"Sleazy?" Hunk suggested.

"Like he was trying to sell you a used car?" Pidge suggested.

"I was going to say 'fake', but those descriptors work, too." Lance said. He turned his head at hearing the door whoosh open. "Hey, Keith. Did your search for answers go better than ours?"

Keith groaned as he hopped down onto to the couch, rubbing his eyes slightly. "I could belong to three different clans if you look at my knife from five different angles."

"No luck then?" Shiro asked. Keith shook his head.

"Coran also thinks that we need an updated clan encyclopedia," Keith said. "Apparently, there are a lot of clans and they multiply like rabbits."

The door opened again and Allura, Lani, Tali and Caelum entered the room.

"How did the tour go?" Hunk asked.

"It was fantastic!" Lani said, hopping onto the couch beside him, turning on her camera as she did so. "Look at all these photos we got!"

Allura sat down with a sigh.

"Everything alright, Princess?" Shiro asked.

"Yes, it's just…" She closed her eyes and sighed again. "The people here have high hopes and expectations for me. And I'm honored for that. But I don't know if I can live up to them."

"What do you mean?" Pidge asked. "What expectations?"

"Many people expressed joy that Princess Allura would be staying here with us," Caelum explained, frowning slightly. "Allura, I love my grandfather, but I recognize when he is trying to make a power play. He wants you here, and he has no qualms about using guilt to get you to comply to his wishes."

"I won't bow to anyone's games," Allura said, leaning back, folding her arms over her chest. "Discuss situations with me in a straight-forward manner or not at all."

"Exactly," Lance said, remembering his own experience with Dei that morning.

Caelum suddenly straightened at hearing a beep, then pulled a communication device out of his pocket. He studied the message, then said, "My grandfather would like to speak with you, Allura. Tonight if possible."

Allura grimaced but said, "I will speak with him."

An hour later, Caelum escorted Allura to meet with Dei, who greeted both warmly.

"I'll get straight to the point, Princess," Dei said as he invited them to sit down in his office. "I would greatly appreciate it if you and the Paladins could act as diplomats for me, and negotiate the return of an Altean heirloom."

"Which heirloom?" Allura asked. "And who would I be negotiating with?"

"The people would be the Yunglins of planet Mitalin," Dei said. "For the last ten thousand years, they have been the guardians of a particular heirloom, and I think it's time we have it back, now that our princess has returned."

Allura sat up straighter. "By heirloom, you don't happen to mean…"

"The Book of Lions, yes."


	35. Chapter 35

**Happy Halloween/Celtic New Year!**

Chapter Thirty-Five:

"Oh. My. Quiznak." Hunk said, his eyes wide.

"This… Please tell me I'm dreaming…" Lani said, somehow still keeping the camera steady.

"I'm done!" Shinji proclaimed, putting his hands in the air as if in surrender. "I'm going back to the Castle away from all this nonsense!"

"Holy crow…" Lance said, still staring in awe. "I cannot believe what we're seeing…"

Pidge turned and looked at Shiro and Allura, both of whom were staring with open mouths and horrified looks on their faces.

"So," They said. "Uh, how are you two going to handle this one?"

Shiro groaned and put his head in his hands, massaging his temples. "We need an adult." He proclaimed.

"Shiro, I hate to break it to you, but technically speaking, you are considered an adult…" Tali said.

"We need an adultier-adult. An adult with more Experience Points!" Shiro said, lifting his head up.

"I concur," Allura mumbled. They glanced at each other then both yelled,

"CORAN!"

 _Twelve Hours Earlier…_

"Why do I keep having this feeling that we're Dungeons and Dragons characters who keep getting side-quests?" Hunk asked as they approached the planet.

"Because we keep getting side-quests," Shiro said. "So the Yunglins have had this book for ten thousand years because…?"

"Because it was loaned to their museum right before Altea fell." Allura said. "This book has a lot of information regarding the Lions and Voltron. Reclaiming it means not only regaining an Altean treasure, but it could provide you Paladins valuable information."

"I thought having valuable information about Voltron was Coran's job," Pidge said.

"That is very kind of you to say, Number Five, but the Book of Lions will be much more beneficial to you than I ever could be," Coran said. "The first Paladins wrote down about the abilities the Lions could unlock, attacks that they discovered together while forming Voltron, or things that they had discovered about their bonds with the Lions that even their comrades-in-arms did not know about."

"So basically it's a Voltron instruction manual." Hunk said. "Could have used that a couple months ago…"

"I would have thought Zarkon would have his hands on it," Allura admitted. "The Yunglins requested Voltron for a peace ceremony, but this was after the first Paladins began to break apart from each other. So my father loaned them the book as a symbol of the peace instead."

"Well, it's not worth getting all the cheat codes if you don't have all the parts and pieces," Tali pointed out.

"How hard do you think it'll be to convince the Yunglins to part with it?" Lani asked.

"Well, hopefully they'll happily hand it over to the new Paladins of Voltron," Allura said. "Easiest diplomatic exchange yet."

()()()()()()()()()()()

"Allura's eye is twitching." Lance whispered to Pidge. "She's either got something in her eye, or we're supposed to be receiving some secret code message that we didn't cover in Paladin school."

"Or she's really, really pissed." Pidge whispered back. "That's what my money's on."

So much for 'easiest diplomatic exchange yet'.

"Minister Uluio," Allura said tightly. "I understand that this is now part of your museum's permanent collection. However, that was not the arrangement that was made with the Royal Library of Altea ten thousand years ago."

"Which became invalid with the destruction of said library," Minister Uluio said. The Yunglins looked very much like humans, but with red, reptilian skin and tails and slanted eyes. "Consider this a favor to Altea, for Mitalin to protect it from destruction and age. And as a return for the favor, we will continue to protect it for millennia to come."

"Minister Uluio, I beg you, think of how much the Paladins of Voltron could learn from the Book of Lions." Allura said, voice oozing charm. "Knowledge that they and their successors will never have if it is trapped behind glass for ten thousand more years."

"Ah, so the current Paladins of Voltron are incompetent without having access to the book, is that what I'm understanding, Princess?" Minister Uluio asked, eyes gleaming slightly.

"What? No, heavens no…" Allura said quickly.

"Then based on their achievements thus far, it appears that they do not need the Book of Lions in order to successfully fight the Galra Empire," Minister Uluio said. "Besides, wouldn't having the Book be somewhat cheating? The first Paladins had to learn everything on their own. Self-discovery on this journey is very important, and makes the knowledge gained so much more important…"

"Minister, that is not in debate but—" Allura was cut off as a male voice called out, "Father!" and an adolescent Yunglin rushed into the room, pushing past Lance and Pidge.

"Father!" The young Yunglin said, eyes gleaming as he held up a tablet of pictures. "Father, look at these pictures I took last night, it is most definitely the creature, and I made a cast of the footprint it left behind and—"

Minister Uluio sighed and said, "Meelin, please, not now. Can't you see that we have guests?"

The boy, Meelin, turned and said, "Oh, forgive me for the intrusion, but I needed to show my father the proof that my zoological research study can finally be declared valid."

"No, it cannot." Minister Uluio said sharply. "For the last time, Meelin, the creature does not exist and is a figment of your imagination as a result of spending your nights in the woods and limited sleep. The Board of Science will never accept it, and if you want your degree at all you should choose a much more provable, valid research study."

"But, Father, see!" Meelin insisted. "I have proof! The creature is simply nocturnal and shy!"

Meelin then started showing them all his photos.

Suddenly, Keith's eyes widened. "Stop there! On that one!"

Meelin's finger froze and he held out his tablet for Keith to take. Keith's mouth formed an 'O' and his eyes seemed to shine as he whispered, "It's Bigfoot!"

"What?" Hunk said, looking over Keith's shoulder.

"No way," Tali said, also coming over to look.

"Look, see!" Keith said, pointing at a tall shadow. "It's definitely a Sasquatch!"

"You are familiar with the creature!" Meelin said, looking just as ecstatic as Keith.

"It's a mythical creature from our home planet," Pidge explained. "Keith, uh, happens to be our resident expert in that topic."

"Father, the creature is real and lives on other planets as well as Mitalin!" Meelin exclaimed.

"The Green Paladin called it a mythical creature," Minister Uluio said, frowning. "Mythical as in a fictional beast. No, you most likely captured a photo of a Vaneder, or some other creature that walks on its hind legs. But it was so dark and you are so sleep-deprived you did not realize this."

"I know what I saw, Father, and I would stake my life on it!" Meelin said firmly. "I will prove to you that it is real! And I will do so tonight!" He then turned to Keith, saying, "Your comrade says that you are an expert in these creatures. Please, assist me in bringing proof to my father, and give these noble beasts the recognition they deserve!"

"Yes! Of course!" Keith said, nodding his head vigorously, giving Meelin back his tablet.

"Um, Keith, I don't know if that's a good idea…" Shiro said, eyeing Minister Uluio who was looking furious with both his offspring and how the conversation had turned.

"But Shiro!" Keith exclaimed, rushing forward to put his hands on Shiro's shoulders, shaking him slightly. "I've basically been preparing for this day my whole life! This involves two things I know a lot about! Aliens! And Bigfoot! This is Alien Bigfoot we're talking about! Please let me do this!"

"Keith, come on," Shiro said, his facial expression clearly saying that he was mentally chanting 'patience yields focus'.

Keith's big eyes suddenly became watery and his lower lip jutted out.

"Oh no," Lani said. "He's bringing out the puppy dog pout."

"I didn't know Keith knew how to do the puppy dog pout." Lance said, both amused and amazed.

"Allura, back me up here!" Shiro said, his eyes widening.

"You both do know that he won't let it go if you don't let him do this," Tali said. "And you'll have to deal with a depressed Keith for months, maybe years…"

Meelin suddenly stepped in. From Pidge's observations, the look of mischief in the making was, well, universal. "You are here for a reason, yes?"

"We came to formally request possession of the Book of Lions," Allura said.

Meelin turned to his father. "Father, if we bring you proof tonight that this creature is real, will you let the Paladins take possession of the Book of Lions?"

Minister Uluio gave a small scoff of laughter, smirking slightly. "I think Smardgarfs are more likely to suddenly wear dresses, but I will agree to those terms."

Allura exchanged looks between Shiro and Coran. "I believe we can accept those terms…" She said shakily.

"Yes!" Keith and Meelin exclaimed, both grinning.

For everyone else, they knew they had a long night ahead of them.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Welcome to our Voltron Watch special!" Lani said into the camera. "Finding Alien Bigfoot!"

"To make a long story short, our new friend Meelin here," Tali said, gesturing to the grinning Meelin beside her. "Say hi to the people of Earth, Meelin."

"Greetings, humans of Earth!" Meelin said, waving to the camera.

"So anyways, Meelin here is a zoological student. And for the last few years he's been trying to prove to his people that this legendary creature exists. This creature strongly resembles the Earth mythical creature known as Bigfoot—also known as the Sasquatch or Yeti—" Tali said, but was cut off by Keith yelling from the background,

"Yeti are different than Sasquatches, Tali, everyone knows that!"

"Sure, Keith," Tali said flatly. "So we were already coming here to try and negotiate the return of a lost Altean heirloom with a lot of importance to Voltron. Meelin made a deal with his father; we find alien Bigfoot, we get the heirloom. So, yeah, we're hoping it doesn't take us a gazillion seasons to turn Finding Alien Bigfoot into Found Alien Bigfoot."

"So meet our Finding Alien Bigfoot team!" Lani said. "For Team Believers, we have team captains Meelin Uluionorm and Keith Kwan. Then we also have Lance Sanchez-Garcia and myself, Hokulani Kahele.

"For Team Skeptics, we have team captains Allura Alforsdaughter and Shinji Shirogane. Then we have Voltron Watch's own Tali Wright and Takashi 'Shiro' Shirogane.

"For Team Neutral, we have team captains Hunk Kekoa and Coran Arayason. Then we have Caelum Lyrason and Pidge Holt."

"How we're going to do tonight is simple," Tali explained. "We're going to split into pairs of two. There won't be a team of two believers, two skeptics, or two neutrals, to make sure we see all angles of any potential Alien Bigfoot sightings. In short, a team will consist of one captain and one non-captain from another team. The team captains are going to do a draw to determine the order of picking.

"So while the drawing happens, let's talk with some of our team members, shall we?" Lani said.

The camera shifted to Pidge, who was sitting on a tree stump, focused on the screen of a scanner in their hands. "We're going Bigfoot Hunting," Pidge said flatly. "In the name of diplomacy. Space is weird, guys."

The camera changed to Coran, stroking his mustache. "In all my years, I never thought I'd see the old night-time mythical creature hunt delegation route be used, but yet here we are, just like Professor Arbuckle said we'd use it someday," Coran said, shaking his head slightly. "I thought it was like alphabetical-numerical mathematics. Never have a practical application in real life."

The picture then cut to Lance and Caelum standing together.

"I know nothing about these creatures or whether they exist, but I am willing to look at the evidence to determine whether I am a true skeptic or believer," Caelum said. "However, I must admit that Keith seems very knowledgeable in the subject of these 'cryptids'."

"Yeah, but Keith's readily available knowledge mostly applies just to cryptids, aliens, and sharp objects," Lance said. He held up one finger and said, "Watch." He turned to look over his shoulder. "Hey! Keith!"

"Yeah?" Keith called back, and the camera quickly swiveled to get a shot of him from where he stood with the other captains.

"Who was the first president of the United States?" Lance asked.

Keith's face went blank, blinking slowly.

"Here's a hint," Lance said. "There's a state named after him?"

Keith remained silent, frowning slightly.

"He's on the one dollar bill?" Lance prompted.

"G-Georgia?" Keith said at last, hesitantly.

Lance sighed slightly, looking at the camera despondently. "Close enough."

The camera cut again and Lani announced, "And our team captain with the first pick of the night is… Keith!"

Keith surveyed the people to choose from, then said, "I choose… Pidge."

Pidge dutifully walked over to Keith's side.

"Next up we have Coran!" Lani said. "And who will he—?"

"Lance." Coran said, without waiting for Lani to finish.

"Okay, that answers that question…" Lani said as Lance came to stand beside Coran. "Allura, you're next."

"Hmm…" Allura hummed, considering, then said. "Caelum."

The young Altean nodded and came to stand beside the princess.

"Meelin," Lani prompted. "It's your turn."

"Shiro." The Yunglin said.

"Shinji, your turn."

"Tali." Shinji said. From where she was operating the camera, Tali stuck her arm into view and gave a thumbs-up.

"Hunk," Lani said, then frowned as she realized she was the only one left. "Uh, looks like you're stuck with me then."

"I was going to pick you anyway," Hunk said with a small, nonchalant shrug.

"Alright then," Lani said with a nod. "Team Voltron, let's go Squatchin'!"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"We do not get paid enough for this," Shinji said as he shined his flashlight on the bushes.

"We don't get paid at all," Tali reminded him, adjusting the zoom of the camera slightly.

"Exactly."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Look, Paladin Shiro!" Meelin exclaimed excitedly, pointing. "We're close to finding the creature!"

"Uh, how can you tell?" Shiro asked nervously.

Meelin suddenly dove into the bush, then quickly returned, grinning, and the camera suddenly jerked back as Meelin showed him something on a shovel.

"What the heck is that?" Shiro asked with disdain.

"Fresh droppings!" Meelin exclaimed. "We can use these to follow the creature's trail! Here, come closer so you can get a better idea of what scent we're looking for."

"… No. Just… No."

"Hmm, your loss." Meelin said, shrugging and heading on further into the woods.

From behind the camera, Shiro grumbled, "Join the Galaxy Garrison, they said. You'll explore the galaxy, they said. Maybe you'll discover life outside of Earth, they said. It'll be fun, they said."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Coran?"

"Yes, Number Three?"

"What's the plan?"

"For finding this creature?"

"No, for when we can't find it. You and Allura have something to fall back on, right? Some sort of magic Altean diplomatic maneuver that works every time?"

Coran was quiet for a few moments.

"You… You do have something, right?" Lance asked worriedly.

"Lance, my boy, how do I phrase this?" Coran said. "If we don't find this creature tonight, well, then… To use an Earthling phrase, we're screwed."

"Oh. Great…"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"We're screwed, Caelum. We're screwed, and it's all the fault of this stupid creature. And stupid diplomacy. And that stupid book…"

"Princess, I am certain that we are not, in fact, 'screwed'. There has to be some solution, if not this creature." Caelum said reassuringly.

"You're right," Allura said. "We must not get up hope yet."

"Yes, hope is good." Caelum said.

They were both quiet for a moment, then Allura said, "Caelum? Hope is good. But taking matters into your own hands is even better."

"Are you saying you're going to find the creature, Princess?" Caelum asked.

"Yes. Or, at least, someone is going to find the creature."

"Princess? Are you alright?"

"Caelum, you have to understand that we are at war. And that means we cannot always be fair and just when it comes to conquering the enemy."

"What are you alluding to, Princess?"

"I am saying that I am willing to fight dirty in order to see this mission accomplished."

Caelum was quiet, then said, "I am confused, terrified, and intrigued. Whatever you are thinking, count me in."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Any idea what we should be looking for, exactly?" Lani asked.

"Me?" Hunk said. "You're the one on Team Believer!"

"Yeah, but I've never actually gone actively looking for Bigfoot or evidence of Bigfoot," Lani said.

"Well, I guess we just look for anything out of the ordinary. On an alien planet." Hunk paused, then said, "Yeah, maybe we didn't think this one through…"

Suddenly, they both jolted at hearing a strange sound.

"What was that?" Lani whispered.

"Let's find out, and hope that whatever it is is friendly…"

"I don't care if it's friendly, as long as it doesn't try to eat us."

"Good qualifier. Better qualifier. On second thought, let's stay as far away from that as possible."

"Much better idea…"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Pidge, I'm going to call for it," Keith said with all seriousness.

"You're going to do what now?" Pidge said, blinking and tilting their head at him.

"Call for the creature," Keith said, a little more enthusiastically this time. "That will make him come towards us, make him think that we're looking for a mate."

"Mate as in another word for friend, or mate as in get married, have two-point-five kids and a dog?" Pidge asked. They were rightfully concerned about how the rest of the evening was going to go.

"Let's find out! It's been a while since I've last made a Bigfoot call, hope I'm not too rusty…" Keith said, cupping his hands around his mouth and letting out a noise that sounded somewhere between a bear's roar and a Wookie war cry.

"That was…" Pidge said when he was done. "Um, that was something alright."

"Awesome, I'll do it again!"

()()()()()()()()()

"Um, what was that?" Shinji asked.

Tali sighed. "I've heard that sound before…"

"That's not an ominous statement at all…"

"It's Keith's Bigfoot call."

"… Keith has a Bigfoot call?"

"Have you met him?"

"You're right, why am I surprised?"

"Come on, let's go after the sound, just in case it's actually a creature that shouldn't exist."

()()()()()()()()()()()

"What was that?" Lance exclaimed, jumping slightly at the noise.

"Let's go find out," Coran said.

"Coran, can you do me a favor and sound less excited about going to investigate sudden loud noises in a creepy alien forest at night?"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

The camera jostled as Meelin grabbed Shiro's wrist, dragging him. "Hurry! We might still be able to see it!"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"I'm getting some heat readings!" Keith said excitedly, starting to bob from foot to foot. "Bigfoot's coming!"

"Are you absolutely sure?" Pidge asked.

"Yes, look!" Keith said. "Look how tall it is! So much heat is coming from—" Keith cut himself off as he looked at the screen. "Pidge! It's two! Look, see! One tall and one just a bit shorter… Male and female maybe?"

"Uh, Keith," Pidge said nervously. "Um, I'm kind of worried about what they're going to expect…"

"They're coming closer!" Keith whispered, ignoring Pidge. "They're getting closer and closer and—!"

He looked up and shined the flashlight at the rustling bushes and—

"Oh." Keith and Meelin said simultaneously, looking disappointed.

"Hi Shiro," Pidge said, giving him a wave.

"Hi Pidge," Shiro said, returning the wave.

"See Shinji? I told you what we'd find is a couple of nerds," Tali said as she and Shinji approached.

"And I told you that I did not doubt that," Shinji said.

"I get the feeling we're doing this wrong…" Lance said as he and Coran approached.

"I get the feeling we have no idea what we're doing, because what we're trying to accomplish is impossible," Pidge said, frowning.

Shiro frowned at hearing rustling in the bushes behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, then quickly turned around. "Um, guys?"

"What is—?" Tali started to say, but cut herself off with a scream.

Her scream of terror was joined by similar screams from Shiro, Pidge, Shinji and Lance, while Keith and Meelin made what could only be described later as 'fangirl noises' as the tall, white, bipedal creature emerged from the bushes, arms above its head and roaring.

"It's him!" Meelin said excitedly, snatching the camera out of Pidge's hands, which they did not mind at all and quickly ducked behind Shiro, whose arm was now glowing while waiting to see if the creature attacked.

"It's Alien Bigfoot!" Keith cried out. "I knew my call worked!"

Only Coran was unimpressed by the arrival.

"I wouldn't be so hasty there," He said, walking straight up to the creature.

"Careful, do not scare it away!" Meelin warned.

"It's not your creature," Coran said. "Unless your creature is a Inuat from Nua."

"A… A what?" Keith said, shoulders and face falling.

The creature lowered his arms as Coran got closer, sighed, then said, "This was as the only race we could think of that matched Meelin and Keith's description."

"Caelum?" Lance exclaimed. "Is that you?"

"And why did you scare us like that?" Shinji demanded, scowling.

"I asked him to," Allura said with a sigh as she stepped out from behind a tree, holding Caelum's clothes. "We were hopeful that we would be able to fake the evidence needed in order to get the Book."

Suddenly, there was more rustling in the bushes and everyone jumped, but quickly relaxed at seeing Hunk and Lani approach.

"Heard screaming, came running," Lani explained as they tried to catch their breath. Still panting slightly, Lani raised her camera. "Where's Bigfoot?"

"There is no Bigfoot," Shiro explained. "And even if there was, we probably have scared him away." He turned to Meelin. "Look, I'm not going to ask you to give up on your dream of finding this thing someday, but we need some help guaranteeing that you'll be able to continue your search by making sure that the Galra Empire is defeated and doesn't take over your planet. Can you help us out?"

Meelin's shoulders slumped some. "Yes, I do see your point… I can see what I can do. But as you probably realized, there is very little one can do to sway my father."

"Yeah, definitely realized that," Hunk said.

"Can we please head back towards civilization then?" Tali asked.

The trek back was punctuated with Keith doing his Bigfoot call every few intervals.

"Keith, could you give it a rest already?" Pidge asked.

"Yeah, you sound like you're killing your throat," Lance said.

"Bigfoot is still out there, and I want him to know that I want to be his friend!" Keith said before making the call again.

"Just let him yell himself hoarse, it means we won't have to hear about him complaining for the next week because we didn't find anything," Tali pointed out.

Hunk suddenly stopped, frowning as he looked behind him into the bushes and trees surrounding them. "Um, guys? I think I hear something…"

"It's probably animals running away from Keith's Bigfoot calls," Allura said.

"No, I think it's coming our way," Hunk said.

"It's probably just some sort of animal," Shiro said. "Nothing to be worried about." Then he turned to Pidge. "Right? Nothing showing up on your scanners?"

Pidge frowned as they looked at the scanner. "Well, uh, there is something large and radiating heat that the scanners are picking up."

Everyone stopped.

"There… there is?" Lani asked.

"Yeah, but it could just be an animal," Pidge said. "It's definitely organic."

"Organic is good!" Meelin said.

Pidge gulped. "Um… It's kind of coming towards us…"

"Oh no." Allura said, feeling the blood draining from her face.

"Oh yes!" Keith said, grinning. He did the Bigfoot call again and…

A tall, brown fur-covered creature poked its head out from behind the tree curiously.

"Oh." Pidge said with a small squeak.

"My…" Caelum said shakily.

"Quiznak…" Shinji finished.

The creature—now undeniably a Sasquatch—stepped out from behind the tree and cautiously towards them, making low grumbling and growling noises.

"This is incredible!" Meelin whispered, practically in tears as he scrambled to turn on the camera again. "After years and years of searching, I finally have solid proof that the creature exists!"

While Meelin began to film the creature with silent tears of joy, Keith expressed his joy another way. Which was by running at it and jumping on it in a bear hug, which the creature didn't seem to mind too much.

"Oh my God, Keith just glomped Alien Bigfoot." Lance said.

"I knew you were real, all along," They heard Keith say as he looked up at the creature. "No matter what the haters say."

"Oh. My. Quiznak." Hunk said, his eyes wide.

"This… Please tell me I'm dreaming…" Lani said, somehow still keeping the camera steady.

"I'm done!" Shinji proclaimed, putting his hands in the air as if in surrender. "I'm going back to the Castle away from all this nonsense!"

"Holy crow…" Lance said, still staring in awe. "I cannot believe what we're seeing…"

Pidge turned and looked at Shiro and Allura, both of whom were staring with open mouths and horrified looks on their faces.

"So," They said. "Uh, how are you two going to handle this one?"

Shiro groaned and put his head in his hands, massaging his temples. "We need an adult." He proclaimed.

"Shiro, I hate to break it to you, but technically speaking, you are considered an adult…" Tali said.

"We need an adultier-adult. An adult with more Experience Points!" Shiro said, lifting his head up.

"I concur," Allura mumbled. They glanced at each other then both yelled,

"CORAN!"

"Yes, yes, I'm right here, I see the issue." Coran said, studying Keith and the Bigfoot, the latter of whom was now holding the former bridal style with one arm and playing with Keith's hair with the other. "Er, Keith, I understand that you are excited, but maybe don't you think you should get away from the creature until we can properly determine if it is safe or not?"

"You'd never hurt me, would you, Gim?" Keith asked.

"Gim?" Shiro repeated, blinking. "Who the heck is Gim?"

"He is!" Keith said, gesturing to the Sasquatch-like creature. "Gimlin Patterson, after the Patterson-Gimlin film!"

"Oh dear Lord he named it," Tali whispered. "We're too late, he's attached…"

"Oh, no." Shiro said, eyes widening. "Oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no, no. Keith, we are not taking him to the Castle with us!"

"YOU LET PIDGE KEEP ROVER! I CALL FAVORITISM!" Keith yelled, throwing his arms around Gim's neck protectively.

"You tell 'em, Keith! Stick it to the man!" Lance said, laughing.

Shiro rounded on Lance, eyes blazing. "Lance, I swear to quiznak—"

Lance laughed a bit nervously as he said, "Shiro, you know you basically just said that you swear to fu—"

"I swear to quiznak," Shiro repeated, a bit louder this time. "That if you don't help us talk him out of this, you're going to be the one cleaning up after him!"

Lance was quiet, then said, "Keith, buddy, Shiro's right, let Squatchy be free."

"His name's not Squatchy!" Keith insisted. "It's Gim. Short for Gimlin. His name is Gimlin Patterson, and now he's family and needs to come live in the Castle with us!"

"Keith, it'd be cruel to take him away from his home!" Pidge insisted.

"Besides, Meelin will be here for him, right Meelin?" Hunk said.

"Of course!" Meelin said, nodding. "We can study and work to preserve his race!"

"See! He needs to stay here!" Lani said. "He'd hate the Castle, wouldn't he? No trees or bushes to hide in, he probably can't survive on food goo and the human food we have."

"No!" Keith said, refusing to look at them, focusing on Gim, who tightened his grip on Keith and gave the rest a look like 'stop being mean to my friend!'.

"Oh no, it got attached to Keith, this is bad." Tali said. "Um, how do we go about this?"

"Well." Allura said, straightening. "First things first."

"Which is?" Lance prompted.

Her gaze was stony as she said, "We get what we came for."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Minister Uluio gaped and fumbled for words.

"Is that…?"

"Yes." Shiro said.

"And you…?"

"Yes." Allura said.

"So all this time…?"

"Yes!" Meelin said proudly.

"But… how?"

"Look, buddy," Lance said, putting his arm around the Minister's shoulders. "When a male Sasquatch and a female Sasquatch love each other very much…"

"Lance!" Shiro and Allura said sharply at the same time.

"Right, shutting up."

()()()()()()()()()()

It took three hours of bribing and cajoling to get Keith to let go of Gim. It only took three seconds for Minister Uluio to reluctantly place the Book of Lions into Allura's hands.

"I'll never forget you…" Keith promised Gim, voice shaky with emotion.

"You can come visit, Keith, we've already promised you that," Shiro said flatly as he took Keith by the shoulders and led him away. "Please step away from the Sasquatch and come back into our spaceship Castle where our five magic robot Lions are."

"Uh, Shiro?" Pidge said, arching an eyebrow. "Are you—"

"No." Shiro answered. "Just no."

"So, was this worth it?" Tali asked Allura once they were off the planet as she sat in the lounge with the Book of Lions on her lap.

"Oh, incredibly so, and—" Allura cut herself off, frowning. "This is horrible!"

"What's wrong? What does it say?" Hunk asked.

"It's what it doesn't say," Allura said, frowning. She showed it to the small assembled party. "The Book has been vandalized! Look, all the names of the Paladins have been crossed out!"

"That's weird," Shinji said. "Can I see?"

Allura passed the book to him and he flipped through a few of the pages, then turned to Shiro, saying, "Here, hold it like this."

Shiro did as Shinji instructed, taking the book in both hands with one lone page hanging loose. Shinji instructed Shiro to lift it and he looked at the page in the light.

"It's really dark, really good for something you don't want people to know," Shinji said. "And I've seen it before."

"You have?" Caelum said. "Where?"

"All the books in the Castle library are marked like that, or have been clearly edited so that it gives descriptors like 'Green Paladin' or 'Red Paladin', that sort of thing." Shinji explained. "Which is weird for a number of reasons. It means that this book was edited at the same time as the others. But also at the same time, it may mean that it was ordered by someone. Probably not a historian, because technically this is history to be preserved, but it would have had to been an Altean."

"Most likely my father, then," Allura said, frowning. "But why would he make that order?"

"But if it wasn't your father and maybe someone did it on their own without an order, why? And doing it in the Castle of the King of Altea, who also happened to be a Paladin of Voltron?" Pidge asked.

Shinji took back the Book of Lions from Shiro, a determined look on his face. "Someone went to great lengths to hide something, from future generations, from future Paladins. Which means it's probably very important. Which also means," he stroked the cover of the book. "That maybe, just maybe, this book and the others in the Castle can still somehow tell us what."


	36. Chapter 36

**This chapter contains highly-dubious Space Science. I was an English Major and a current student of Library and Information Science. I did as much research as I could, but this still comes out as highly-dubious Space Science.**

Chapter 36:

Tali looked up from her bowl of cereal and arched an eyebrow.

"Are you seriously still moping over the Sasquatch?" She asked Keith, who was resting his head on his folded arms on the dining room table.

"No…" Keith mumbled.

"The new conspiracy theory board that's up in your room says otherwise," Lance said as he picked up his own bowl to drink the rest of the milk from his cereal.

"I'm not moping," Keith said again, slowly lifting his head. The rest of the crew saw the dark circles under his red, swollen eyes, his skin pale and sheening slightly.

"No offense, but you look terrible," Hunk said, frowning. "How late did you stay up with that new conspiracy theory board?"

"I didn't," Keith said with a groan, leaning back in his seat, arms folded over his chest. "Just don't feel good. Didn't sleep well last night, and my head hurts."

"Maybe you're coming down with something," Lani suggested. She reached over and placed the backs of her fingers to Keith's forehead, under his bangs. She frowned. "Oh, yeah, you're really warm. You're definitely getting sick if not already sick."

"With what?" Pidge asked. "There's not like there's a cold and flu season in space, and we haven't come in contact with anyone who has been sick."

"The problem is that we may have unknowingly," Shiro said, then he turned to Keith. "You should probably go back to bed."

"That involves getting up," Keith grumbled.

Lance stood up and offered his hands for Keith to take. "Come on, I'll brave your icky sick germs and help you get to your room and settled."

Keith took Lance's hands and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, leaning heavily on Lance as the Blue Paladin took him to his room.

"What happens if Voltron is needed while Paladin Keith is sick?" Caelum asked once Keith and Lance were out of the room. "He cannot possibly pilot in the state he's in."

"No, we wouldn't let him even if he tried," Shiro said. "If we need Voltron, Lance will pilot the Red Lion, and Allura will pilot the Blue Lion."

"Princess, you can pilot the Lions as well?" Caelum said with surprise.

"Only in certain circumstances," Allura explained. "And only so far have done so with the Blue and Yellow Lions. If not Shiro, the Black Lion prefers Keith to pilot her, and in those instances where the Red Lion cannot have her Paladin, she chooses Lance."

"And by 'chooses', we mean Red and Blue once had an epic stare-down that ended with Blue reluctantly ejecting Lance from her cockpit, then turned to Allura while Red quite literally snatched up Lance." Pidge explained.

"That was the scariest thing ever," Hunk whispered with a shudder. "Most intense custody battle the universe has ever seen."

"Moral of the story, when the Lions of Voltron aren't happy, no one is allowed to be happy." Pidge added.

"Good to know for future reference," Shinji said with a nod. "Think Keith'll be okay?"

"Yeah, the hardest part is going to be keeping him occupied so that he actually rests," Shiro said. "But we can handle that."

To everyone's surprise, Keith slept most of the day, waking up only when prodded to eat, drink water, and take medication.

"Well, I got him to eat a little," Lance said with a frown as he brought what was left of Keith's dinner into the kitchen.

"That looks hardly touched at all," Allura commented with concern when she saw the bowl. "And he didn't eat breakfast, and hardly any lunch."

"Lack of appetite isn't an uncommon side effect of being sick," Hunk pointed out. "Especially if there's a chance he could be coming down with a stomach bug."

They all went to sleep shortly after, no one too terribly concerned about Keith.

Pidge squeezed their shut eyes in their sleep.

The dream they were having was weird. It was hot and dark despite the rising, crackling flames that surrounded her. She felt her heart beating fast, with worry, with fear, with… with something.

 _Paladin, my Paladin, you need to awaken! You need to hurry!_

 _Green?_

Why was Green talking to her in this space? Fire wasn't her element.

 _Paladin! Please! Hurry! He needs help!_

 _Who needs help?_

And then the silence of the night, the silence of space, was broken by the sound of a loud roar.

Pidge jolted awake, fumbling for their glasses, eyes wide.

That was the Red Lion's roar.

Their feet hit the floor, running for the door.

Something was wrong.

Pidge opened the door to see Lance running past, Shiro behind him.

Their heart caught in their throat as they caught Hunk's glance before they both took off down the hall as well.

Something was wrong with Keith.

Pidge and Hunk got to Keith's room, the door open with Lance and Shiro already on the floor on their knees. The two rushed inside to help.

Keith was thrashing on the floor, attempting to tear at his own skin, eyes wide, mouth open in a silent scream, gasping for air, almost hyperventilating, drops of his own blood on the floor around him. Lance and Shiro were trying—fairly unsuccessfully—to pin down Keith's wrists to keep him from further hurting himself. Hunk grabbed hold of Keith's left arm—where the wounds seemed to be the worst—in an attempt to staunch the bleeding, and Pidge rushed to the other side to attempt to do the same.

But what scared Pidge the most was that Keith's body was shifting back and forth between human and Galra. One second Keith's right eye was golden, the next it was back to violet. His skin was shifting between purple and its lighter tone, so that it looked like Keith's skin was marred by constantly appearing and disappearing bruises. His fingernails kept lengthening and sharpening into claws that tore at his skin, but then kept shrinking, the short, dull nails doing just as much damage as the claws.

"What is going—?" Allura started to say from the door, but then she cut herself off with a gasp, rushing inside.

"Keith, what's wrong?" Lance asked. "What hurts?"

Keith couldn't answer, he just kept gasping for breath.

"Is he having a seizure?" Tali asked.

"I don't think so," Shiro said. "Caelum, take over for Pidge, your hands are bigger than theirs."

Pidge moved for Caelum to take their place, but had barely gotten to their feet when the entire Castle began to shake.

"Are we under attack?" Lani asked, pausing briefly in helping Coran sort through the first aid kit the older Altean had grabbed from a nearby room as soon as he saw the situation.

A loud, angry roar began to accompany the shaking.

"That's Red!" Pidge exclaimed. "She's trying to get to Keith!"

"She's going to destroy the Castle, which is not going to help him," Allura said. "Pidge, we need to get to the Blue and Green Lions and try to get her out."

"They won't be able to get her out, Blue and Green aren't big enough," Shiro said as Allura and Pidge ran out of the room. "Shinji, take my place, Tali take Hunk's."

The switch happened so fast, but Shiro felt bad leaving the room and Keith, especially as he heard Lance try to coach Keith in taking deep breaths. Shiro forced himself to continue on towards the hanger;

"Hunk, see if you can pull Red out of the hanger," Shiro said as he grabbed the controls of the Black Lion.

"Roger that!" Hunk said, guiding the Yellow Lion into Red's hanger, grabbing the smaller Lion by what would be—on a real lion—the scruff of the neck, dragging her into space, throwing her a good distance away from the Castle.

Red roared in displeasure as she zoomed back towards the Castle, letting out a second, louder roar when she saw that Allura had used the Blue Lion's ice powers to block the entrance to her hanger.

"Good thinking, Allura," Pidge commented.

"Um, except for one thing!" Hunk said urgently as Red's mouth began to glow. "Red breathes fire!"

Before Red could unleash any of the said fire, Shiro knocked into her with the Black Lion, sending her spinning into space; without a pilot, she needed a moment to regain her footing.

"Oh, she is not happy." Allura said, eyes widening.

"How can we get her to chill out?" Pidge asked. "We've never had any of the Lions react this way before."

"The Black Lion is telling me that none of them have ever done this before," Shiro said, frowning. "I think in this case we treat Red like she's a Robeast."

"So we're making up our strategy as we go then?" Hunk asked. "Whoa!" He suddenly jerked Yellow out of Red's path.

"Basically," Shiro said, clamping Black's jaw around Red's neck, sending the smaller Lion thrashing.

()()()()()()()()()()()

"Let's try to get him upright, that might help him breathe," Coran said. Lance and Tali nodded and each let go of Keith's wrist with one hand in order to slip it under his back, helping Coran lift Keith up into a sitting position.

Then, to their horror, Keith let out a shuddering gasp and his eyes rolled back, his entire body going limp.

"Keith!" Lance and Tali exclaimed in horror as Caelum and Shinji both rushed to keep Keith from crashing to the floor, instead lowering him back.

"I don't think he's breathing," Shinji said grimly.

"Move!" Lani ordered, shoving Shinji and Tali aside. "Move!"

In quick, clearly well-practiced movements, Lani grabbed Keith's chin, tilting his head back and opening his mouth, placing her other hand in front of his mouth. She swore, then moved her hands to Keith's chest, rapidly compressing before she moved back to tilting Keith's head back, pressing her mouth to his.

"Come on," Lani mumbled as she went back to doing the compressions.

"He's got a pulse, he's just not getting oxygen in," Coran said, his fingers on Keith's wrist.

"Keith, come on, breathe," Tali whispered, tears in her eyes.

()()()()()()()()()()

To the horror of the Paladins and Allura, Red suddenly went slack in the Black Lion's grasp.

()()()()()()()()()()

Lani pressed her mouth to Keith's again, blowing air into his throat, trying to encourage him to breathe on his own.

She lifted her head, preparing to do more compressions when suddenly Keith took a sharp inhale, his eyes flying open. He took some deep shuddering breaths on his own.

"Oh thank God," Lance whispered, scrambling over to Keith's side, grabbing his hand. He gently squeezed Keith's fingers and opened his mouth to say something…

And Keith made a low, rumbling noise as he tried to push himself up on his elbows.

And everyone in the room was suddenly, vividly aware that this was Keith's body in front of them, but it was not being controlled by Keith.

"Hello, Red Lion," Coran said. "How about we get you to the infirmary now?"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Shinji met Shiro, Hunk, Pidge and Allura in the bay where all the hangers met.

"Keith's okay," He said quickly. He frowned and amended, "Well, he's stable, at least. The Red Lion kind of took over his body."

"That was what we were hoping was happening when Red shut down," Hunk said. "Was it bad?"

Shinji's frown deepened and he made a move as if to stick his hands in his pants pockets, then seemed to remember he was still wearing PJ bottoms because he sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Bad doesn't begin to describe it, considering Lani was giving him CPR when Red took over."

"Geez," Pidge breathed.

"Where is everyone else now?" Shiro asked, face grim.

"Infirmary. I told them I'd meet you here so that you got in the loop faster, didn't freak out and stuff," Shinji said.

They headed straight there, all unsure of what they would find when they got there.

Compared to the chaos and panic of the last few minutes, it was relatively peaceful. Caelum was helping Coran with some equipment. Tali stood at the end of the bed, her thumbnail between her teeth with her other arm hugging her chest slightly. Lance sat in a chair beside the bed, while Lani stood on the other side, adjusting pillows and blankets needlessly. The fact that everyone was still dressed for bed didn't seem to be an issue for anyone, and was so low of a priority that it didn't even make it onto the list.

And then there was Keith. Or, more accurately, the Red Lion occupying Keith's body.

A clear mask covered Keith's mouth and nose, hissing and pumping air into his lungs. The scratches on his arms were bound with white gauze and there was an IV placed in the back of his hand. His sweaty bangs were pushed to either side slightly for a small black strip that displayed data in blue and red. And his skin and nails and eyes were still shifting, neither human nor Galra side becoming solid even for a nanosecond, patches of purple appearing then disappearing across his skin in random patterns.

Red noticed their entrance through Keith's eyes and made a small, curious noise.

"Hey, Red," Shiro said in a soft voice, trying to approach in a non-threatening manner. Red was the most temperamental of the Lions, and while not easily scared he didn't want to do anything that could send her into flight-or-fight mode. Especially because, with Red, the choice was always 'fight'. "How are you?"

Red shrugged Keith's shoulders.

"Can Keith hear us right now? Does he have any idea about what is happening?" Caelum asked.

Red shook Keith's head.

 _Safe. Resting_.

Pidge felt goosebumps raise on their arms as Green passed along the message from Red.

"You sent us the dreams, didn't you Red?" Pidge asked. "The dreams about the hot, dark place?"

"Oh, man, you guys got that too?" Hunk asked. "And your Lion…?"

"Woke me up, yeah," Lance said softly, his thumb gently rubbing the backs of Keith's fingers. "He couldn't breathe… If we hadn't been there, if Red hadn't taken over…"

A collective shudder went through the room.

Allura stepped over to put her hand on Lance's shoulder. "Let's not think about that right now." She said. She looked over at Coran. "Do we have any idea what is wrong with Keith?"

"None so far," Coran said. "Running diagnostics now on his blood, and have already completed a full body scan."

Coran brought up a holographic-panel and tapped on it, bringing up a display showing the silhouette of a body. Keith's body.

"His bronchi are practically swollen shut," Coran said, focusing the scan on Keith's lungs. "Which is why he struggled to breathe on his own. But that's not all. Visual examination of his skin shows signs of irritation and rashes, while the scans show inflammation in his dermal nerve endings."

"So, his skin was itchy and extremely painful," Hunk summarized.

"No wonder he was tearing at his own skin," Pidge said. Like his Lion, Keith's response was always to fight, but it was even harder to take flight when you were trapped in your own pain-filled body.

"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Shiro asked, folding his arms over his chest, frowning at the display and the representation of Keith that was on it.

"No," Coran said, shaking his head. "However… I am predominately having the computer system search Galra medical journals and other sources of information."

"Because of his shifting?" Tali asked.

"But I thought Keith's shifts were brought on by anger," Lani added, frowning.

"Maybe it's not anger," Pidge suggested. "Maybe it's just strong emotions. I mean, if you can't breathe and your skin feels like it's on fire, you freak out. Emotions like fear can be particularly strong when you're physically weak and out of control."

"I think strong emotions are only one part of this, Number Five," Coran said. "But I think there's something else to consider, other factors at play. Specifically, the dual nature of human and Galra won't let his body pick a side in order to heal."

"What do you mean, pick a side?" Caelum asked.

"Yeah, Keith's only got one body. The two species of DNA he has should either have blended together or not at all," Shinji pointed out. "And if it was the latter, Keith might not have even been born."

"Whatever this is, it's attacking the Galra part of his DNA," Coran explained. "Problem with that is, the Galra part is not the stronger side."

"Not the stronger side?" Lance repeated, looking and sounding incredulous. "Um, I'm not sure how much the Galra have evolved in ten thousand years, but I'm pretty sure the Galra side of him is the physically stronger side."

"Oh," Allura whispered, her eyes widening, looking over her shoulder at Keith's body, Red meeting her gaze unflinchingly. "I think I understand now… He's a runt."

Red apparently did not like that word and growled slightly at her.

"Don't get mad at me!" Allura chastised. "It's the technical term, and you know it!"

"And she's correct," Coran pointed out. "So don't get your tail in a twist over it."

Red continued to growl until Keith's body fell into a coughing fit, and Lani and Lance both rushed to pat him on the back.

"I'm sorry, what do you mean by runt?" Tali asked, brow knitting together.

"Is Keith considered tall for a human male of his age, is he? Or at the right weight?" Coran asked, already flicking through the medical files that had been uploaded to the Castle from the Galaxy Garrison before they left Earth.

"Weight, not really. Height is a little more difficult," Shiro said. "That's a little more subjective to racial background and genetics and health and hormones, that sort of thing. Why?"

"Because we can know for certain that Keith is not the height nor weight of the average male Galra at the equivalent life stage." Coran said. "Thus, he is weaker in comparison. Therefore, a runt. Strong for a human and strong in general, yes, but not as a Galra. His human side is stronger, more dominant."

"Actually, that makes a lot of sense," Hunk said. "Because if Keith's human side is the dominant part of his genetic make-up, and something is attacking the weaker side—the Galra side—which means that his immune system doesn't know how to fight the problem as a human."

"And apparently doesn't want to relinquish control to the non-dominate side," Caelum added, frowning. "I've heard of a few cases like this in bi-species persons. However, they do not typically undergo shifting like Keith is currently experiencing. Their genetics provide a more equal split in appearance."

"So then if it's affecting the Galra side, then he'll need to fight it as a Galra," Shiro summarized. "But is there anything we can do to make that happen?"

"More importantly, what exactly is 'it' that Keith's immune system is trying to fight off?" Tali asked.

As if answering her question, the computer beeped.

"I think we're about to find out," Coran said. A few seconds later, they all frowned at the results.

"An allergic reaction?" Pidge exclaimed. "To what?"

Coran pressed a few more panels and a picture of small white flowers with purple leaves appeared on the screen.

"What are those?" Hunk asked.

"They're Tealehum flowers," Coran said, frowning. "But they are only native to one region of one planet, Alhivra, and we have been nowhere near that system."

Caelum sucked in a breath. "Of course… That's why Keith's Galra side is reacting." He took a step forward and pointed at the small flowers. "No one is sure why or how, but this particular plant is toxic to certain species. Most notably, the Galra."

"No," Allura said, shaking her head, frowning. "I remember those flowers, Ryla loved the tea made from the Tealehum."

"She fell in love with that tea on a diplomatic mission to Alhivra," Coran added. "She was full-blooded Galra and suffered no ill consequences."

Red purred in agreement.

"The flowers adapted or changed somehow in the last ten thousand years," Caelum explained. "It's a popular tea in many parts of the universe. The Galra Empire only tolerates the flowers' growth because, since it's such a rare commodity by being able to grow in one small portion of one planet, that means that they can tax the plantation owners heavier as well as have high tariffs for those importing the tea. Also, because they are toxic enough to invoke an allergic reaction like Keith's, but not kill."

"But those stupid flowers almost did kill him!" Lance growled. "He went into anaphylactic shock!"

"Because Keith's body knew something was wrong but didn't know how to address it," Shiro said. "Alright, so now that we know the cause, what can we do to help him?"

"I'm going to adjust our search parameters, see what we can find out," Coran said.

"Even if we find a solution that's here in the Castle that can be administered right away, we still have a problem," Shinji pointed out.

"You are correct," Allura said, frowning. "Keith's shifting… The solution might not work while in human form, but we can't get either form to stay steady."

"Good news is, there is something and that it is readily available," Coran said, putting in commands into the computer. "One round of antihistamines, coming right up!"

"Great," Lance said as a small vial slowly rose out of a panel. "So we know what the problem is and what the solution is, but have no way to get to the solution."

Red frowned slightly then Keith's violet eyes widened. Red moved Keith's hand—the one Lance was clutching. Using Keith's free hand, Red pressed Lance's hand down onto Keith's knee.

"Uh…" Lance frowned. "Red, what exactly is this supposed to—"

 _Take your place._

Lance, Shiro, Pidge and Hunk all jolted at the voices, the sounds of their Lions in their heads.

"What's wrong?" Tali asked. "What happened?"

"Take my…" Hunk mumbled, pressing the palm of his hand against his forehead and rubbing slightly, sending his hair askew. "What does that…?" Then his eyes widened. "Oh…" He took a step forward and placed his hand on Keith's left knee, looking Red in the eye as he did so. "Like that?"

Red nodded vigorously.

" 'Place'… It's our positions in Voltron!" Hunk said, looking over his shoulder at Pidge and Shiro. "Lance is right leg, I'm left leg…"

"I'm left arm," Pidge said, rushing over to wrap their hand around Keith's wrist, careful of the IV.

"And Black forms the head," Shiro said, coming over to place his flesh hand on top of Keith's head.

"A quintessence transfer," Allura whispered. "Of course."

Suddenly, all four of the Paladins' hands began to glow with quintessence, five pairs of eyes closing.

The others watched with bated breath as lavender spread out over Keith's skin, the splotches converging; his hair began to turn from black to dark purple at the roots before cascading down. His fingers and ears stopped shifting back and forth and stayed purely Galra.

Once the transformation was complete, Shiro, Lance, Hunk and Pidge's hands stopped glowing and they opened their eyes, their hands lingering.

To everyone's surprise, Keith's eyes opened, a dull yellow glow casting a gaze around the room, blinking slowly, brow furrowing slightly.

"Hey, buddy," Shiro said softly, gently stroking Keith's hair. "Welcome back."

Keith didn't say anything, just continued to blink slowly, his breathing suddenly less steady and more wheezy.

"Alright, let's get this medicine in you," Coran said, preparing a syringe.

"Can it go into his IV?" Pidge asked, keeping their voice low. Beneath their hand, they felt Keith's muscles tighten, and Pidge quickly turned to Keith. "Whoa, Keith, you need to relax, you've got a needle in your hand and if you keep doing that it's not going to be good. It's going to hurt for starters."

Pidge's words had the opposite effect on Keith, as his eyes widened and he tried to shake off Pidge's hands, rapidly flicking his hand, like he was trying to get rid of an insect or something.

There was a lot of noise and scrambling to pin his arm down, everyone calling out some variation of "No!" and "Don't do that!".

Shiro, who still had his hand on Keith's head, suddenly started moving his fingers against Keith's scalp, gently scratching and massaging. Keith stopped struggling, his ears twitched slightly, then his whole body lost tension and relaxed against the bed.

"Uh, Shiro?" Tali said slowly as Hunk and Pidge let go of Keith. "What are you doing?"

Shiro looked at her, looked down at his hand, then up at Tali again. "I have no idea, but it's working so I'm not complaining."

"Let's get that medicine in him now," Allura said.

"Wait half a tick," Lance said, grabbing Keith's right hand, gently starting to massage each finger and joint as he spoke to Keith. "Hey, Keith, do you know where you are right now?"

Keith blinked slowly, glanced around again, then nodded.

"Awesome. Coran has some medicine that's going to help you breathe better, but we need you to relax and not fight us, okay? You know none of us are going to do anything to hurt you, right?"

Keith hesitated, but nodded, extending out his hand with the IV. He closed his eyes as Coran administered the medicine, and within moments he was sound asleep.

"What was that about, Lance?" Shiro asked, his hand still on Keith's head, now afraid of waking or disturbing Keith if he moved.

"Keith didn't seem all there when he woke up," Lance explained. "Thought maybe it would help to get him to remember he was safe, since his first instinct was to try and fight."

"Good call," Shiro said with a nod.

"So," Lani said softly. "Now what?"

"Now we wait, and we all try to rest," Coran said.

That was easier said than done, as they were all still shaken from the night's events.

The pillows and blankets they had stashed for camping out in front of the healing pods were dragged out, and everyone did their best to get comfortable. The first time Shiro tried to move his hand, Keith let out a noise that was some mixture of a grunt, a growl and a whimper.

"Only problem is," Shiro said sheepishly. "Is that my hand is starting to cramp up."

Tali volunteered to take his place. "This is the Keith equivalent of a cat falling asleep in your lap," She observed as they made the swap.

"Galra Keith is giant cat, confirmed," Hunk said solemnly with a nod.

Pidge dragged a blanket over to where Allura had set herself up. "Mind if I join you over here?"

"Of course you may," Allura said as they both settled down on the pillows. Allura dropped her voice to a whisper, frowning slightly. "Is something bothering you, Pidge?"

"I'm worried about Keith," Pidge whispered.

"We all are. But it appears the medicine is taking affect."

"No, I mean," Pidge sighed. "Allura, what we did, what Red told us to do… Keith's currently in his Galra form. But what if he stays that way? Forever?"

Allura frowned. "I had not thought of that…" She glanced over at Keith. "If this is permanent… Things just became a lot more difficult."

"You're talking about diplomacy and Voltron," Pidge pointed out. "And you're not wrong. But that's not what I'm worried about."

"Then what is?"

"Keith didn't get a say in this," Pidge whispered. "If we changed him, permanently… Allura, you remember what he was like right after we first figured out he was Galra."

"Yes, there is still a rather large dent in the dining room wall," Allura said musingly, remembering the incident that involved another instance of Keith's fight-or-flight tendencies, this time resulting in him throwing a plate at the wall both in anger and as a diversion to run away.

"And then he locked himself in his room, cutting himself off from everyone," Pidge reminded. "Just because Red will let Lance fly her, and Blue will let you fly her, doesn't mean we can let that happen again." They sank against the pillows. "And he's just started to really come to terms with his Galra form, too…"

Allura reached over and gently placed her hand on top of Pidge's. "A worry for tomorrow. Our biggest concern this evening was Keith's physical welfare, and saving his life. We can worry about the mental and physical appearance aspects in the morning."

Pidge sighed, but nodded. They pulled the blanket over themself and fell asleep, silently hoping and praying that Keith wouldn't hate them all in the morning.


	37. Chapter 37

**Happy Autumnal Equinox!**

Chapter Thirty-Seven:

"Are you comfortable?" Hunk asked. "Do you need another pillow? A blanket?" Without waiting for a response, Hunk looked around at everyone but the patient, currently nestled into the couch in the lounge. "Does he look like he needs another blanket?"

"I'm fine," Keith mumbled, sinking further into the pillows he was surrounded by, his fluffy purple ears folded flat slightly. "Stop fussing."

"Um, sorry, you nearly died on us, Fluff-butt," Tali said, gently pushing a lock of Keith's hair back. "We're going to fuss and you're just going to have to deal with it."

Keith just blinked slowly, his half-lidded eyes practically screaming that he'd like to go back to sleep. But, still, he croaked out, "You guys said I had an allergic reaction?"

"Yeah, to some super-rare flower that makes this super-expensive tea that apparently decided to hate Galra sometime in the last ten thousand years," Lance said, adjusting the blankets that were laid over Keith. "And apparently it had a delayed reaction."

Keith suddenly stiffened, brow furrowing, looking a bit more alert. "Is it Tea-la-mum, or something like that?"

"Tealehum," Hunk corrected, frowning slightly. "Keith, when and where did you have some of this tea?"

"Mitalin, with Meelin," Keith said. "When we were in his study, planning, someone—his father, I guess—sent a servant in with a pot of it. I only drank about half a cup, it was a little bitter and made my mouth feel weird."

"Nothing else?" Shiro asked. "Your throat didn't feel tight, your stomach wasn't upset, your skin didn't itch?"

Keith shook his head. "Felt fine until yesterday." He paused and added, "Wasn't the Yunglin's fault. They didn't know."

"No one is blaming anyone. It was an accident. Even Coran and Allura didn't know. And now we know and we can be more careful in the future," Shiro said, reaching over and placing his hand on Keith's knee. "For now, just rest and recover."

Keith nodded as the door to the lounge opened with a whoosh, and Lani, Pidge and Coran.

"We come bearing gifts!" Lani proclaimed, lifting the tray she was carrying slightly for emphasis. She set it down on the floor behind the couch and lifted a travel-mug off of the tray, passing it to Tali who passed it down to Keith. "One mug of non-lethal tea, guaranteed to stay at a perfect drinking temperature thanks to alien technology. One bottle of water. And a plethora of snacks."

"Thanks," Keith mumbled sipping on the tea.

"Right, next gift is this," Pidge said, placing a tablet and stylus in Keith's lap. "Use this to write messages to us, let your throat rest a while, okay?"

Keith nodded.

"Plus, unlimited access to our movie and video game collection," Pidge said. "Kind of goes without saying, but also kind of a reminder."

"I don't exactly have another gift," Coran said with a small shrug as he handed over two small pills. "But I do have some more medicine for you to take. Might make you feel a little drowsy."

Keith nodded again and took the pills with some more tea. He then used the stylus to quickly scrawl a message on the tablet: _Thanks everyone._

"Don't mention it," Lance said, leaning over to press a kiss to Keith's cheek. "Just rest and get better."

Keith leaned against Lance's shoulder, eyes drooping closed, tablet clutched to his chest, starting to drift off to sleep.

Pidge's communicator in their pocket beeped, and they rushed to silence it. They looked up and whispered: "Allura wants to see us on the Bridge."

"You think you two will be alright?" Shiro asked Lance in a low voice.

Lance nodded, gently strokiing Keith's hair with his fingertips as Keith's breathing evened out. "We're good. Catch me up on anything important, though."

"Will do," Hunk promised.

Minutes later, Hunk, Shiro, Pidge, Tali, Lani and Coran joined Allura and Caelum on the Bridge.

"How is Keith?" Caelum asked upon seeing their entry.

"He's not in any pain, a little shaky but otherwise alright," Shiro answered. "He's resting now."

"And… How is he taking being stuck as a Galra?" Allura asked.

"Harder to tell," Tali said, folding her arms over her chest. "What's going on?"

"We are almost back to New Altea, should be there in a few vargas," Allura said. "Which gives us enough time to establish a believable tale for why Keith will not be making an appearance, nor is anyone allowed in the Castle."

"The first I understand," Shiro said. "But why bar off the Castle?"

Allura turned around then, folding her arms over her chest and frowning slightly. "This is Keith's home. He should have free access to the entire Castle, and not be a prisoner in his room or the infirmary. If he wants to be in the lounge, or eat in the dining hall, or go see his Lion, then he should be able to do so without worrying about being seen as an enemy, unwelcome in his own home."

"We'll tell a half-truth, then," Pidge suggested. "Say that Keith has a human illness, but anyone who is exposed to him in the first twenty-four hours is immune but after that it's contagious. I mean, there's no way of them finding out we're lying. Humans are technically a brand-new species to Alteans, right?"

"Very true." Coran said with a nod. "Odd creatures that you are."

"Where's Shinji?" Shiro asked.

"On his way from the library," Allura said. "He started making some digital copies of the Book of Lions yesterday, so that we can show Dei the physical copy. Shinji alerted me a few minutes ago that he was just finishing the scanning process."

"We're not taking the Book with us?" Lani asked.

Allura shook her head. "I gave it some consideration, but no. We'll leave it on New Altea. I am hoping that bringing an important Altean relic will suffice in the place of having an Altean princess."

"Good, because we're not going anywhere without you," Shiro told her.

"My grandfather is a stubborn man," Caelum said. He smiled. "But I have discovered that our Princess is even more so. I do not think that this is a battle he will win."

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Dei seemed both surprised and pleased that Allura presented him with the Book of Lions.

"And you ran into no trouble reobtaining the Book?" He asked.

"Yes and no," Callum said. "It is a long story."

"I would love to hear it," Dei said. "But first, Princess, I must ask: have you given any further thought regarding staying?"

"I have," Allura said, lacing her fingers together in front of her. "And I am afraid that I cannot remain. My place is with Voltron, with the Paladins. I do ask for your support, and that of our fellow Alteans."

Dei frowned but bowed his head. "I suppose that is a reasonable request. However, may I ask one of you, Princess?"

"I believe that depends on the nature," Allura said. This conversation was going better than she had expected.

And then it wasn't.

"Would you be willing to perform a Blessing of the Lions, as your grandmother did when Voltron was first formed?" Dei asked.

Allura's smile dampened slightly. She was familiar with the Blessing; however, it would involve forming Voltron, and if she were to perform the Blessing, she couldn't pilot one of the Lions while Keith was still recovering. "I… I am afraid that is one request I will have to fulfil at a later time. Keith, our Red Paladin, is currently under the weather—nothing serious, just a minor human illness—but without him, we could not form Voltron for the ceremony."

"Oh dear, what a pity," Dei said, heaving a sigh. He suddenly smiled. "Although, I may have just the thing that will help your Paladin recover."

He went over to his desk, and opened a drawer, pulling out a small wooden box. He presented it to Allura. "Tealehum tea is said to be a universal remedy."

She swallowed slightly; that was the last thing Keith needed. After last night, she wasn't even going to bring the plant anywhere inside the Castle. "I appreciate the offer, and thank you for your generosity on Keith's behalf, but I am afraid that we will have to decline again. The few times Keith has had the tea, he has had negative reactions."

"Is that so?" Dei said. "How odd. I thought only Galra had adverse reactions…"

Allura felt her face pale and beside her, Caelum stiffened.

The observation would have been innocent enough coming from anyone else.

But Dei was a politician. The comment was anything but innocent.

"Yes, well," Allura said quickly, attempting to recover. "Humans are odd creatures. Their biology is unlike what we have seen before. Nevertheless, they make fantastic Paladins, and take their duties seriously."

"I am sure they do," Dei said, coolly and politely. "Just like their princess. Though I cannot deny that I had hoped that another Altean would take up the mantle of Paladin. My grandson would have made an excellent candidate, I am sure."

"I am certain every grandfather would say the same of his grandchild," Caelum said, voice tight. "I am not that special."

"I will concede to your first statement, but not your second," Dei said. "You are the epitome of Altea and her legacy. Full of the grace and poise and wisdom expected with your noble blood."

"That is not how the Lions choose their Paladins," Allura interjected. "They look deeper, into the characteristics of the heart and soul." Her eyes met Caelum's momentarily, her voice icy. "And I am of the belief that trust and loyalty are amongst the highest of those characteristics."

Caelum felt his heart jolt and his stomach drop.

The princess believed he had told his grandfather of Keith's lineage.

Turning back towards Dei, Allura said, "I am afraid that we cannot extend our stay; we must return to the war at hand."

"Such a shame," Dei drawled. "Well, I shall not keep you."

Allura nodded and turned on her heel and left the room, praying that she appeared to be gliding gracefully out of the room and not storming out as her rage made her feel like she was.

"Allura, wait!"

She grit her teeth as she turned to see Caelum run after her. "What do you want?"

"I do not know how my grandfather figured it out," Caelum insisted. "But I told him nothing. I swear upon every Lion of Voltron."

"I really wish I could believe you." Allura snapped. "But at this point, I will take all actions necessary to protect my Paladins."

"Princess…"

"Do not speak to me or my Paladins again."

Allura left the building, feeling heartbroken, betrayed and furious. She made her way towards the Castle, consumed in her fuming and need to leave the colony, and she barely felt the small hand that grasped her skirt.

She stopped suddenly and looked down, willing her frantically beating heart to calm and for her features to soften as she smiled down at the small girl with hair like the human confection cotton candy.

"Oh, hello there," Allura said. "Sorry, I did not see you. What is your name?"

The little girl blinked up at her, then glanced at a small group of nearby children, who were watching and whispering. The little girl swallowed, then looked up at Allura again. "Do you speak the truth?"

"As often as I can," Allura said.

 _Even though that has proven to be a mistake._

However, neither the old look in young eyes nor the words that came out of such a small mouth were what Allura expected.

"Are you really the lost princess of Altea?"

To say that Allura was taken aback was an understatement.

"Yes, I am," She said. "I am Allura Alforsdaughter, Princess of Altea."

"Prove it."

Allura recoiled as if struck by the young girl's words.

"I don't… What do you mean?" She asked.

"Prove it," The little girl said, all of her previous shyness gone, replaced with a boldness that both impressed and intimidated Allura. "Some people say you are the princess, others say you're an imposter. Which are you? Prove it. If you were the real princess, you wouldn't abandon your people. You have left once, and there is talk that you leave with Voltron. A princess is supposed to lead her people. So prove it."

Allura felt her heart sink.

She knew Dei let her go too easily.

Because, in her absence, he had already started poisoning the hearts of her people.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Caelum stormed back into the room where his grandfather sat at his desk, waiting patiently, a smile on his face even as Caelum's anger was evident.

"How did you discover the Red Paladin's heritage?" Caelum demanded. "Who told you?"

"Your mission was a test in more ways than one. The princess' reaction was simply an acknowledgement that I was, in fact, correct." Dei said calmly, flipping through the Book of Lions.

Caelum's heart jolted. The Tealehum tea. Rare and prized. Of course the Yunglins had some.

But it had not even been served to the visiting princess. Only Keith had drank the tea during their visit. When he had been alone with Meelin.

Shiro had said that Keith mentioned that Meelin hadn't been the one to summon tea. It had been sent for them.

"You told the Minister to serve Tealehum to Keith, didn't you?" Caelum said.

"I did, and by his reports I was beginning to believe the experiment for naught. Until I offered more Tealehum to the so-called princess."

Caelum stiffened. "What do you mean by that?"

Dei looked up, smiling. "I mean, how do we actually know that she is the real princess, and not someone playing pretend? Plying us to her whims by loyalties long gone? She would ask us to sacrifice ourselves in a war when we can barely take care of ourselves. A true princess of Altea would take care of her people first. And if Voltron is truly meant to be our saviors, then why is a Galra among them?"

Caelum scowled. "What is the purpose of forcing Allura to stay here? We have a government system in place, no one is starving, we have low rates of sickness and high rates of survival…"

Dei frowned and sighed. "You're too much like your father, Caelum. You don't understand the truly most important thing. Altean royalty means power. Our status in life before the fall of Altea meant power." Dei stood up and walked around his desk, going over towards the window. "When we established this colony, everyone here knew about and respected that power. That is how I have come to be the overseer of the colony."

"You were elected democratically," Caelum argued.

Dei scoffed. "You are so blind, my grandson. Of course I was elected, because of my status and my power before Altea fell. However, when rumors began to circulate about the survival of the Princess Allura, of course I had to discover if my power was to be displaced."

Caelum stiffened, flinching as if he had been struck. "You set the bounty for Allura?"

"I did. Though you have done better than any bounty hunter, for which I am not sure if I should be proud of or not." Dei turned towards Caelum again, frowning. "She is a threat to my power."

"Then why try to force her to stay?" Caelum asked. Then, it hit him. "You'd be in the prime position to be her advisor. Her most trusted advisor, who knew the colony the best."

"Precisely," Dei said. "And so long as she exists and the people have seen her, they will no longer simply agree to my rule. They will want the princess. I will be undermined. I gave her an opportunity. I gave her a chance to be safe and coddled, to be loved and powerful. She has made her choices. So if she is to leave, if she is to abandon her people… Well, then it would appear that her people have put faith in the wrong person, haven't they?"

"One way or another, you win," Caelum said through gritted teeth, his fists clenched at his sides. "And you intend to use Keith's parentage as a weapon against Allura and Voltron in order to keep your precious power."

"To maintain my power, but not strengthen my own," Dei said, smiling fondly. "Don't you see? This is for you, Caelum. You are my heir. You will succeed me one day. These will be your people to govern. And if she gives in to the demands of the people, then you shall also be Red Paladin."

"I have no such desire, nor do I believe that the Red Lion will accept me," Caelum declared. "Nor do I wish to govern. You have plotted your game, mapped out your battles wisely, but it is all for naught."

With that, he stormed out of the room.

He had to hope that Allura would still admit him into the Castle.

Dei leaned back in his chair, frowning at his fool of a grandson, at the foolish little girl who was the princess.

If they thought that they could win, they were mistaken.

He pressed a button, connecting to his secretary. "Tell the air patrol to put up the particle barrier. Immediately. A security breach has come to my attention."

Neither the princess nor Voltron were going anywhere.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Dazed and upset, Allura walked through the halls of the Castle, trying to decide what to do and fighting tears.

Dei. Dei was turning the Alteans against her.

"How'd it go, Allura?"

She looked up to see Shiro, Coran and Tali approach, but their expressions fell at seeing Allura's face.

"What happened?" Coran demanded, rushing to her side.

The whole story poured out: how Dei somehow knew Keith was half-Galra, how the Alteans doubted she was actually the princess, how she knew it was all some twisted game to force her to stay.

She wiped away her tears of frustration as Shiro said grimly, "If we leave now, I doubt we'll be welcomed back."

Allura nodded, understanding his meaning perfectly.

If she stayed, she could be amongst Alteans. Her people. Her culture.

If she left, she would never be able to do so again.

"What are we going to do?" Tali asked.

"I don't know," Allura whispered. She closed her eyes and sighed. "No. I do know. We have to leave. The fate of the universe is far more important."

Coran placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, then said, "I'll go prepare the Castle for take-off."

Allura nodded in thanks.

A short alarm rang through the Castle; there was someone at the door.

Shiro frowned and took off running. "Not letting anyone in."

However, Hunk and Lani got there first, and let Caelum in.

Allura grit her teeth as she came into the front hall, glaring at Caelum.

"I didn't know," He insisted upon seeing Allura. "I swear, I didn't know."

"What's going on?" Hunk asked, frowning as he looked back and forth between the two Altean teens.

"My grandfather believes you are the key to securing power for him," Caelum said, ignoring Hunk. "We have to leave immediately, before he goes further."

"No, _we_ will leave immediately," Allura snapped, pointing at the door. "You will be staying here. I told you, you are no longer welcome."

"Princess, how can I prove to you that I am honest and loyal?" Caelum begged.

"No, seriously, what is going on here?" Hunk asked, looking at Shiro and Tali for answers.

"Dei knows about Keith," Shiro explained. "And is trying to convince the Alteans that Allura isn't actually the princess."

"Oh, geez," Lani breathed, eyes wide. "None of that is good."

"Which is why we're leaving. Now." Allura said. "And Caelum is not coming with us."

"Princess, I swear that I did not—!" Caelum said, but he was cut off by the intercom.

"Princess, Shiro, we have a problem," Coran said grimly. "Come to the bridge immediately."

The group rushed to the bridge, where they were joined by Pidge, Shinji and Lance, who also heard Coran's message.

"What's going on?" Pidge asked. Then they gasped. "Is that…?"

"A particle barrier," Coran confirmed. "It appears we are not going anywhere anytime soon unless we can get it shut down."

"That's impossible!" Caelum said. "We hardly use the particle barrier, and it is typically only activated to test the system. The next test isn't until next phoeb. And the barrier is only in case we are found, and only then to give us enough time to evacuate."

"Oh, I think we have bigger problems," Lani said, grimacing, her face and hands against the windows.

"How could we have a bigger problem?" Allura demanded. "There is no way we could possibly have a bigger problem."

"Well, then, Princess, we have a very tiny problem in the form of an angry mob," Lani responded, looking over her shoulder.

Everyone joined her at the windows.

"Okay, but, if it's a mob of peace-loving, peace-keeping Alteans, how angry can it really be?" Hunk asked.

Everyone instantly jumped and there were quite a few yelps as rocks started pelting the windows.

"I'd say pretty angry," Shinji said, frowning.

"Paladins, suit up, now," Shiro ordered. "Lance, is Keith still in the lounge?"

"Yeah, and he's awake now," Lance confirmed.

Shiro nodded. "Shinji, Tali, Lani, get Keith to his room and stay there."

The three of them nodded and everyone parted ways.

The four Paladins rejoined Allura, Coran and Caelum once they were in their armor.

"What's our strategy here?" Hunk asked.

"First we find out what they want, and then we think on our feet," Allura said.

"I hate the fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants plans," Hunk said. "The seat of my pants would prefer to stay firmly on the ground."

"Should Pidge and I try to take down the particle barrier so we can escape?" Lance asked.

"No, that would cause even more panic and give the Alteans a reason to attack us," Shiro said, shaking his head. Then he frowned, and said, "But if things get bad, I'll give you a signal to go and do that." Pidge and Lance nodded.

"Wait!"

The group turned to see Shinji, Tali, Lani and, surprisingly, Keith coming towards them.

"I thought you were taking Keith to his room," Allura said, frowning.

"We were," Lani said. "But Keith said he needed to show you something."

At that, Keith stuck his arm out from under the blanket he was wrapped up in. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. To everyone's amazement, Keith's skin paled and when he opened his eyes they were dark.

"What? How?" Lance said, looking from Keith's arm to his face.

Keith shrugged, then used the tablet to write out, _Woke up from nap. Got curious. Red helped. Space magic._

"Can you do this with your entire body?" Hunk asked.

Keith frowned, then closed his eyes again. They watched as he shifted back into a human form. He opened his eyes, smirked slightly as he scrawled out, _Apparently yes._

"This is perfect," Lance exclaimed. "Now we can prove to the angry mob that there's nothing for them to be angry or mob-y about!"

"Actually…" Caelum said, grinning suddenly. "I have a better idea."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Allura asked Caelum in a low voice.

"I would not have suggested it if I thought otherwise." Caelum assured her.

Allura stared at him, long and hard, her lips in a thin line. "You understand that I still do not trust you."

"I do. And I hope that this helps you understand that I am on your side, Princess."

Allura said nothing, but pressed the key to open the door to the Castle.

There was chaos before them. So many people and loud, angry voices. And Dei exactly where he loved to be: front and center.

"Bring forth the Galra, you traitor!" Dei called out, leading the mob to echo the cry.

"I do not know what you are talking about!" Allura yelled in response, trying desperately to be heard over the crowd. "The Castle has only humans and Alteans on board. Not a single Galra!"

"You are lying!" Dei cried out. He raised his arm and pointed towards the Castle. "Seize the Red Paladin!"

Allura screeched appropriately as several Alteans surged past her, pushing and shoving. Caelum grabbed her and pulled her back, both watching as Shiro, Pidge, Hunk and Lance were "overpowered" by the Alteans, none of whom stopped to wonder why there hadn't been that much resistance.

"You are a liar, a traitor, and an imposter!" Dei yelled. "You are not our princess! A true Altean princess would protect her people, not bring a Galra amongst our presence!"

"I assure you, I do not know what you are talking about!" Allura yelled. "The Red Paladin is a human of Earth, not Galra!"

There was more ruckus amongst the crowd, loud cheering this time, as the Alteans roughly drug out Keith. Or, at least, Keith under a hooded cloak, gloves, his pajamas, socks, and wearing a medical mask, his head down.

"We tried to stop them!" Tali called out, her arms behind her back, being held by an Altean, as were Coran, Lani and Shinji.

"You claim to not have a Galra, yet you have hidden the Red Paladin, refused to let anyone see him," Dei called out. "And we all know why! We can see through your lies!"

Dei marched up towards Keith, looking triumphant. He whirled around to the Alteans and proclaimed, "Look, my people, and see our enemy! Look, my people, and see what we do to traitors and fools who believe they can trick and betray the most noble, most superior race in the universe!"

With that, Dei whipped back around, his hands going for Keith's hood…

"No!" Allura called out, struggling in Caelum's arms. Dei ignored her, pulling back Keith's hood…

Dei froze, his eyes wide as Keith's violet eyes stared back at him, dark against pale skin, his black hair hanging loose around his face.

"No…" Dei whispered. "No… I know…"

He tore off the mask, revealing the rest of a human face. With a frantic look in his eye, Dei ripped off Keith's gloves. More pale skin, with neatly trimmed fingernails. Dei shoved up one of Keith's sleeves. More pale skin. Not a patch of purple fur in sight.

"No…" Dei said, louder this time. "No, this is a trick!"

Confused murmurs started to rise amongst the mob, just as Caelum hoped. They allowed Dei to get all worked up, to think that victory was in his grasp… only to look like a fool in front of the entire colony, discrediting him and all of the rumors he had begun.

With a roar of fury, Dei's hands went for the buttons of Keith's pajama top, but at that point, Shiro had already freed himself from the Altean who had 'captured' him. Shiro stepped forward, knocking away Dei's hands.

"We would appreciate it if you did not tear off his clothes," Shiro said sharply. "He's sick as it is, and exposing him to the air will only make it worse. You've already exposed yourself and everyone else to his germs."

The Altean who was holding Keith by the shoulders yelped and quickly jumped away, brushing his hands off on his pants.

"Besides," Shiro continued. "I do not believe that stripping clothes off of a Paladin in broad daylight in front of the entire planet is something the most noble, most superior race in the universe would do. That is much more of a Galra-like action, isn't it? As someone who was held prisoner by them for a year, I would know."

"No…" Dei said again, shaking his head, pointing at Keith. "No, he is a Galra spy! He has infiltrated the Paladins, corrupting them! He is working for Zarkon! He wishes to see us all becomes slaves in the Galra Empire!"

"The Red Lion chose him!" Pidge yelled, drawing their bayard, eyes narrowed as they came to Keith's other side, Hunk and Lance behind them. "Keith is a Paladin of Voltron!"

"The Red Lion chose a Galra before him, and look what happened!" Dei roared at Pidge, gesturing to the mob behind him. "We are exiles! Our planet destroyed! Millions upon millions of people enslaved! The Lions of Voltron know nothing of what we have suffered, and can be used for evil as well as good! All Galra deserve death!" Dei's eyes focused on Keith as he raised a bony finger and yelled, "Beginning with that one!"

Allura froze, her heart in her throat.

Unbidden, her mind replayed the memory the Red Lion had shared with them.

The last memory the Red Lion had of her original Paladin, Ryla.

Of Ryla in prisoner garb, her long hair shorn to the scalp, being dragged out of Zarkon's throne room, sentenced to death.

Of Ryla using her last moments to protect the Red Lion… and renouncing her bond with the Lion in the process.

Of Ryla's last instructions to the Red Lion: _"I hope another Galra is worthy of being your pilot, Red! I hope you choose a Galra to fight against this injustice!"_

The Red Lion had done just that, with a slight twist: she chose the half-Galra Keith.

Ryla knew that, for there to be peace, for someone to take down Zarkon and the Galra Empire, there would need to be Galra.

Defeated or not, the Galra were not going anywhere.

Defeated or not, the Galra did not deserve the genocide her people had suffered.

There were good Galra in the universe. And she claimed one as a friend.

"No," Allura said, stepping forward, eyes hard and focused on Dei. "You are wrong. However, you are also right."

She looked at the five Paladins, but Keith in particular. In a low voice, she asked, "Do you trust me?"

She didn't even notice if the other four responded or not. She just kept meeting Keith's eyes, until slowly, he nodded.

Allura took a deep breath and faced the crowd full of faces like hers.

"Keith is half human. And half Galra." She declared.

There were gasps and shouts and angry faces.

"I understand," Allura said, holding herself taller, straighter, her voice strong. "After all the ways that the Galra have wronged us—wronged the universe—I understand. When I first learned of this, I felt betrayed and hurt and angry. Because this was someone I regarded as a friend." Allura looked at Keith, smiled and said, "Someone I still regard as a friend." She faced the crowd again. "Keith was unaware of his lineage when the Red Lion chose him as her Paladin. However, I do not doubt that the Red Lion was aware when she made her selection. Not only does Keith possess all of the traits of the Red Paladin, but he had the quality that Ryla—the Red Lion's original pilot—requested that the Red Lion seek out in her next Paladin: Galra blood.

"If we are to spurn all Galra, regardless of what is in their hearts, regardless of their actions for good or evil, then we are equals with Zarkon. Uncaring about the fact that these are individuals who happen to share certain physical qualities with others. We have been a race of peace keepers, explorers, diplomats, traders, and learners for hundreds of thousands of years. Our ancestors would have been ashamed to hear any one of us say that an entire race deserves death for the actions of a few. Keith has been willingly sacrificing himself every day since he became a Paladin of Voltron. Fighting for every one of you and the entire universe so that we may one day be free of Zarkon. He is noble, kind, talented, intelligent, brave. And he so happens to have a Galra for a father. I suggest you ponder your priorities." Her gaze drifted over to a fuming Dei as she added, "And where your loyalties lie."

"They know where their loyalties lie," Dei snapped, stepping forward towards Allura. "With true Alteans! Not some imposter princess! You are a fraud, and a liar! No one would be a fool enough to be loyal to you!"

"Then let me be known as the biggest fool that ever lived, Grandfather."

Dei whipped around towards Caelum, whose fists were clenched at his side, his eyes hard, jaw tight.

"Caelum, come here," Dei snapped. "You are too smart for this. You know you are being led astray."

"I know that I wish for my children to see the universe as free as I did as a young child," Caelum said. "And I know that these people—these so-called liars and traitors and frauds—are the only hope for the universe."

Caelum stepped so that he was standing in front of Allura, then got down on one knee, head bent.

"I, Caelum Lyrason, pledge my loyalty to Princess Allura Alforsdaughter of Altea, for as long as I shall live. I shall fight at your side, and be at your beck and call. My loyalty is not to the crown, but upon whose head the crown rests." Caelum glanced up at Allura, giving her a small half-smile. "Long may she reign."

Allura's shoulders relaxed and she smiled slightly. She nodded, both indicating to Caelum that he could rise and that she trusted him.

Caelum rose to his feet, then stood beside Allura. To the crowd, he called out, "If anyone wishes to join the fight against Zarkon's Empire, speak now!"

No one moved, no one spoke.

No one volunteered.

Dei, though still furious with Caelum, also looked victorious. "You and your pathetic little band of freedom fighters need to leave this planet. Immediately. And do not return."

"Understood," Allura said, her heart breaking slightly.

It was a battle neither lost nor won.

But it was a war she did not think she could win.

()()()()()()()()()()

"How could they?" Pidge yelled, kicking at the wall in anger. "How could they just go from demanding justice, then refusing to put their own necks on the line to seek peace?"

"I guess it's easier to 'seek justice' when there are more of you than there are of them," Shiro said with a sigh, rubbing his face with his hand.

Allura stood at the windows on the bridge, sighing as she looked at the dispersing people, watching for Caelum to return after having gone to retrieve some of his personal items.

Alteans. Her people. Faces like hers she never thought she would ever see again.

And she wouldn't. They had turned their backs on her.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, turning and smiling slightly at seeing Keith. He scrawled something out on the tablet, showing it to her.

 _You okay?_

"No," She admitted. "Not really." She glanced down at her feet, then back up at Keith. "Thank you. For trusting me."

Keith quickly wrote a response. _And thank you, for trusting me._

Allura smiled. "I'm only sorry that I ever doubted you."

She pulled Keith into a hug, which made him stiffen, but then he returned the hug.

"You're going to do great things for this universe, Keith," Allura whispered in his ear. "You already have. I'm so proud of you. And glad that you are my friend."

"Even if I'm sometimes purple?" He whispered into her ear.

Allura chuckled as she released him, watching as Keith's pale skin turned a dusty purple, his eyes paling to a glowing yellow. She reached up and stroked the fur on his ears.

"Even if you are sometimes purple," She agreed. "Now go rest. I want you back in peak fighting form as soon as possible. And I know I am not the only one."

Keith gave her a fanged grin, then he waved and walked away.

Allura felt another hand on her shoulder and looked up at Coran.

"You did well today, Princess," He said. "Your parents would be proud of you."

"Even though we just lost one of our few precious alliances?" Allura asked.

"When the alternative is sacrificing your friend, another close ally? Of course. Nova would have kicked someone's netherbum by now. You managed to just do so with words."

Allura smiled. "Thank you, Coran."

As Coran walked away, a little thought wiggled into her brain.

As often as Coran spoke of her father, there was always a distinct fondness whenever he spoke of her mother. Especially more recently. Had Coran, at one point in time, been in love with her mother? Or still was, thousands of years after her death?

She didn't have long to ponder that thought as Caelum appeared on the bridge. "The particle barrier will lower in approximately ninety ticks," He said.

"Great, let's go before we wear out our welcome any further," Lance commented.

"Uh, one question though," Hunk said. "Where do we go from here? Are we just going to go back to the whole wandering the universe, listening for distress calls thing?"

"No," Allura said as she approached the controls. "We learned one valuable lesson today: we need allies. Not just planets with people who will give us supplies or shelter. We need people to fight with us."

"Like, soldiers?" Lani asked. "You want to make an army?"

"Perhaps not an army, per se," Allura said. "But we are small in numbers. Most of the planets we have been to and freed, they need to ensure that their planet is protected and well-defended before they can do anything to help us. However, that can take some time."

"She's right," Shiro said. "Even the combined military of all the militaries on Earth wasn't enough to keep out the Galra. Everything has to be re-evaluated and strengthened. That's not something that can be done overnight. Especially on the planets who had their own militaries disbanded for hundreds, if not thousands, of years."

"So we need to find allies who feel secure enough with their own defenses in order to lend us some strength," Tali summarized. "How do we do that?"

"I have an idea," Coran said. "Princess, set a course for Nabat-Al."

"What's on Nabat-Al?" Pidge asked.

"The priests and priestess of Nabat," Coran explained.

"Future-seers and speak only the truth," Caelum said, eyebrows arched. "But they are as peaceful as Alteans once were. They will not join our forces."

"No," Allura said as she plugged in the coordinates. "But they can tell us who will."


End file.
